Truth and Lies
by Mana-Ryou
Summary: The heiress to the throne of Team Rocket, Julia Ketchum must find something worth fighting for if she is to save herself from the the lies and the undeniable truth. *Contains OCs* Damon/OC Rated T for language.
1. Prologue

It was rather incredible how blind people can be to the reality around them. How an entire world can exist in tandem with their own and they can be completely ignorant to it. Innocent remarks, like ones on the weather or a simple order of coffee, can seem so ordinary and mundane to some, and yet to others have a heavy weight upon them. That person on the park bench? That bag by their foot? That hides a device with the capability to reshape our whole world. That woman who ordered a latte? She's receiving orders to deal with interference. The man you bumped into and gave a quick 'sorry' to? He's being blackmailed by someone. Someone who could easily bring his own world crashing down around his shoulders. A person with so much influence, he could have everything he ever wanted and seeks everything he desires like a bloodhound chasing a rabbit. Never giving up. Relentless. Unforgiving.

A devil in a suit.

So whilst many people go about their regular business, worrying over the trivial problems of broken nails, football matches and broken phones, all around them is a war. A war between many different powers that is invisible unless you're involved or go looking for them. They operate discretely; any action premeditated and any operation was protected from ignorant eyes by the cover of darkness and manipulation. Sneaky moves, made to undermine the competition and bolster their own standing. A war with no direct weapons until the end, when confrontation was forced from one of the opposition and the fighting became outright and underhanded; weapons' being revealed until only one was left standing and the others in shambles. This was the way it would end, and in one person's eyes, he would be the victor standing on the backs of his enemies. Then he would move on to other, larger goals. Conquering his foes wouldn't be enough for that, but it would give him a strong position. And then there was his other face; his guise as the kind, thoughtful business man in charge of his massive, multi-national, multi-million company. His influence would be even stronger; bribing and corrupting politicians, manipulating public opinions and his sheer wealth were more than intimidating. A man like that could rule the world...

If he played his cards right.

And he was doing just that; each move was clear and concise, with preparation and meditation on each action long before the move was played and each one was purposeful. Truly intimidating. To try and incite rebellion against such a man, within the ranks of his minions, was not an easy task. But there are always those who will do anything and go to any length to do such a thing. If given the drive to do so, and that's what he gave them. He gave some of the people the drive to rebel and fight back. Sometimes intentionally. Why? Because it always showed his absolute strength and power when he crushed rebellion and spirit. It even gave him some pleasure to prove his power over them. How mighty it made him feel.  
But sometimes, it's an accident. Through fault of his own is this drive created and sometimes, it creates an uncontrolled spark that could ruin even the best laid plans. Sometimes this spirit already existed and he kept on feeding it without realising what he was doing. These rebellions are even stronger; they're unpredictable and uncalculated and can be destructive on a larger scale. This was what he could not allow. And yet it happened anyway.

Two girls. Sisters even. Both quite different in appearance and personality, but the exact same in determination. The elder of the two was slated to be Giovanni's heir; her charisma that was nurtured since birth and her ability to weave such lies that could fool even the cleverest of men made her quite dangerous to competition. Her analysis of a situation and to act accordingly made her a natural choice. But then there was the younger of the two; she was just as clever as her sister, just as charismatic and just as good a liar, though a little brash and at times seemed too impatient to prove her intelligence made Giovanni reluctant to even consider her. It wasn't until she was twelve years old did that change. She had walked around, repeating the same line about an upcoming tragedy, death and destruction and, due to some of his own partial fatherly-concern (which was an extreme rarity) Giovanni sent the girl to her mother, under the impression that twelve years of confinement, with only six to eight weeks of freedom per year, was beginning to take its toll. It was only after it happened did anyone realise just what gifts she had.

Fire. An explosion that was no accident. It killed everyone inside. Everyone except the result of years of work. Mewtwo had destroyed the lab in its rage of being a human 'play thing' and went along with Giovanni to become stronger, only to discover it was being used as a weapon and escaped once more. It was only days after the lab's destruction though, did Giovanni realise what he had, sitting in a village on the other side of the region. A girl with foresight. He sent for her immediately only to be consumed in rage.

She was gone. Stolen a Charmander from the local Pokémon Professor and disappeared into the night; untraceable and impossible to capture. The thought of such a useful tool slipping through his fingers infuriated Giovanni, but despite his best efforts, he never found her. The only time he knew of correspondence was the letters sent to the girl's mother, his wife. But even with his various connections, it was impossible to tell where they had come from. He was frustrated that he was being outsmarted by a child, though impressed she was able to invade someone of his stature for so long. In fact, it had been about five years since that day and there was still no sign of her whereabouts. At least not to him. Perhaps she would have been the best heir after all; she was cunning and sly. Impossible to predict and had learned lies and secrecy at her mother's knee. If she had stayed, she would have been chosen.

Then she too, would have been another devil in disguise.


	2. The Mission

Stretching, yawning and running a hand through messy brown hair, Julia Ketchum stepped off of the ferry and onto the stone port of Castelia City, the City of Grandeur and its name did not disappoint. A sprawling metropolis, sky scrapers towered over head, the streets and harbour were bustling with activity and there was the smells and noise that came with the urban maze. It was good to be back in Unova for the first time in over a year. Since then the city had changed; bulletin boards had changed, updated and even moved, showing off the latest model of the C-Gear. A new high rise apartment building or two had been erected and a new office building, shiny, pristine and new, stood bold as brass amongst its peers. People made their way to and fro, each with their own destination, some talking on phones with important business partners, friends or family members, others licking an ice cream to beat the summer heat, mothers dragging children along and tourists clicking cameras or hauling bags behind them.

A man in a luminous jacket handed Julia her luggage and, with a thank you, she set off. It was late afternoon now; the summer heat hung in the air in a pleasant buzz, not a thick, muggy heat thankfully and it felt nice on Julia's face as she walked. Once off of the main street, she found it less of a battle to get through the masses, which were dwindled considering the time. The sky was a spotless blue, with not a cloud in sight and the skyscrapers offered cool reprieve from the burning sun that was sinking steadily towards the horizon. Cars parked by the roadside glared red-hot in the sunlight and there was almost a haze of heat rippling from the pavement itself, whilst the trees and shrubs wilted miserably in the relentless sunshine parching them with no promise of rain in sight, the soil now dry and cracked. Julia felt strangely pitiful and as she paused to take a swig of water from her bottle, she poured some into a flowerbox and she felt oddly good about it for some reason.

Julia was a fairly pretty young woman, aged nineteen nearly twenty with a slender figure, soft facial features and chocolate eyes. Over her shoulder was slung her usual camera bag full of the camera itself and all of the odds and ends; flashes, cords, batteries, everything. It was all important as it let her get on with her work as a photographer. Julia enjoyed her work; in fact it was the reason she was back in Unova; she'd been hired by a tour guide company to photograph a Harvest Festival in a town called Eindoak, along with the town itself for their next book.  
The town was further north in the mountains and was about two weeks on foot, though by car it could take a day and mere hours by a train from Nimbasa city. That was the plan essentially; get a taxi to Nimbasa and then catch a train from Nimbasa to the station at the foot of the mountain. She would walk from there and be at Eindoak by lunchtime tomorrow. She hailed a taxi and climbed in. Immediately, she wished she didn't mention her plans to her mother anywhere in the house; she was still positive it was bugged. The emblem tattooed on the drivers knuckles was a dead giveaway. Violet R's...

"Nimbasa subway please," she said, then sighed. "Rocket fast."  
"...I see. Rocket fast it is then," the man smiled ominously before driving off. "The boss has an assignment for you to complete," he explained. "Lilith will explain it all to you later." Julia pulled a face of disgust.  
"Lilith? Why not tell me now and save her the trouble?" He simply pointed ahead and Julia peered through the windscreen. Officer Jenny and her team of investigators were patrolling the streets.  
"There was an incident earlier today regarding one of our rookies failing to achieve his objective in an exercise; he was captured and identified as being in league with us so local police have increased security of the area until they're sure that there are no other agents in the area. If we were discovered then it could be a potentially destructive situation," he explained. "As such, any discussion would be risky, therefore Lilith will explain to you at the rendezvous in Nimbasa. It will not interfere with you arrival in Eindoak, I assure you." Julia rolled her eyes and nodded, staring out of the taxi window.  
Why was it her? Why her family?

* * *

Julia came from a town in Kanto; Pallet Town. It was a rather plain, bog-standard town of no extraordinary qualities. It rarely produced anyone of great recognition or standing and so people rarely bothered with it. However, Pallet Town would one day produce a man so influential, powerful and wealthy, it became famous; still rarely bothered but famous. This man became the CEO of the world's most widespread transnational corporation and the head of the world's most notorious criminal organisation, though it was known only to few.  
He later met, fell in love with and married a rather ordinary woman, to the surprise of his associates who expected some rich, fabulous woman or celebrity, and he went on to father her three children. Two girls and a boy. Julia was the eldest and the current favourite as his heir to his company and his organisation: Team Rocket. Her whole life had consisted of her breeding, grooming and training for this one purpose, and to compete with her younger sister, Kayla. Tutored in Politics, business, Economy and language matched the vigorous training in gym, stealth and judo and that was their curriculum as they were schooled in Team Rocket Headquarters, only to return home to Pallet for a few weeks of relief every year and then locked up again in that prison, away from prying eyes. It nearly crushed them both, in spirit and mind.

One, long dark corridor. There were doors, though all but one were locked and that one door lead to what they could only describe as a kind of hell. It opened only onto Team Rocket, onto causing pain and agony. On to becoming like him. That's what was laid for both girls, what was intended for them. But then Kayla found a way out. She found another door and fled before it could be closed again. She left Julia alone. To keep on walking down that dark corridor with one open door at the very end, every other option denying her exit from the path. Kayla was beyond Giovanni's reach now; more slippery than an Arbok and as deceptive as a Liepard, she was at liberty to do as she wished now. Not like Julia. Julia who had no options, no choice, no freedom. Just the path Giovanni had planned for her.

Their younger brother, Ash was the only one who never had to worry about it. There was a bit of pressure to never let slip, but never having to worry about taking over some day. He was spared from that when their mother argued it with Giovanni, refusing to lose another child to Team Rocket. Giovanni consented in the end; he had to eligible heirs and both were quick on their feet, witty and intelligent.  
It'd be easier to nurture them further as his heirs and leave the boy be. To have him trained from scratch when the girls were already several years into their training was impractical in its own way. But even this mercy didn't improve him in any of their eyes. It didn't matter how many times that Mrs Ketchum told them to not be so hard on their father and that he loved them really, their opinion would not be shifted. They hated him. He took everything from them; normality, their childhood and the ability to enjoy life. He took it all and now it was lost for them. What their mother saw in him, not one of them could ever understand.

* * *

The taxi rolled into Nimbasa City as the sky darkened from a golden sunset to the dark of night though here in Nimbasa the neon lights illuminated the darkness so brightly, it could look like day time. They came to a stop outside of the subway station and the Rocket agent passed Julia a ticket.  
"It'll get you where you wanna go. Car six, that's where you'll meet Lilith and Pierce." Julia nodded and climbed out with her bags and made her way into the station just as the taxi drove off again. The station was divided into platforms and a quick glance at the notice board that was mounted on a pillar in the centre of the structure told her that her train would be departing in ten minutes from platform ten. The station was rather busy with people coming and going; a train from Opelucid City had just pulled in and a wave of people spilt from the carriages before others took their place to go from where they had just left. A train to Humilau City was about to depart from platform eight just when a man realised he had left his briefcase onboard and the train had to wait for him to find it. It was incredibly busy, so much so that when Julia found platform ten, she was in a panic as it was almost ready to leave.

With a minute to spare, she showed her ticket to the guard who let her through and she jumped into Car six like she had been instructed to. She sighed in relief as she steadied herself against one of the windows to calm herself before looking around. It was practically empty apart from a few important looking business men sat nearby. The carriage had plush velvet seats and pristine tables for the passengers to seat themselves at, whilst the luggage racks were big enough to hold a crate. Realising that the carriage was reserved for only those with the money, Julia attempted to compose herself and walked to the other end of the car, further away from the men that were sat discussing targets and goals for their company or something like that. She stowed her bags in the massive racks and sat on the seat beneath it, tapping her fingers against the table nervously when the door slid open again.

It was tempting to look up to see who had entered but she always ended up being smacked around the ears for staring at people, so it was a habit she had learned to beat down. The pair who entered was a man and a woman; the man was pale with dark blue hair and sharp green eyes. He was dressed in a dark trench coat with a golden emblem stitched onto the breast and his companion wore the same. She was dark skinned with shockingly white hair in a tight bun and bloody red eyes that seemed to scorch through you when she glared. The pair made their way down the aisle and sat down opposite from Julia, giving no obvious sign of recognition. There was not a single word spoken right away, just silence as the train doors slid closed and the station was left behind.

They entered a dark tunnel where the lights flashed by orange and the clack of the trains wheels on the tracks soon swallowed any conversation from unintended ears.  
"Your assignment," said Pierce, as Lilith slid the folder across the table. "It is of some priority, though you are free to take your time with it. The boss wants the job to be thorough, you see."  
"No delegations, no exceptions," Lilith interjected. "He wasn't happy after the report last time."  
"Wouldn't have guessed it," murmured Julia, as she opened the folder carefully. Location: Eindoak. Naturally. He knew where she worked and could get the information without a problem, so he was easily able to give her an unavoidable assignment.

_Recent analysis of Unova's energy patterns reveals an irregularity in the vicinity of the Vale mountain range, specifically in Eindoak.  
Goal: Analyse the energy flow and, if possible, determination its potential for use. _

There were further details, all graphs and charts that made little sense to Julia as she looked at them and a diagram of the energy flow of Unova.

"I trust you understand what needs to be done?" said Pierce. Julia frowned at the folder before replying.  
"How am I supposed to analyse the energy flow?" she asked.  
"With this," he replied, pulling out a small black case and pushing it across the table discretely. Julia opened it for inspection and found to her surprise what looked to be an ordinary flash. "By using this instead of your regular one, it will translate the energy flows of the earth into graphical data which can be uploaded onto your computer; you would then send this onto the science labs for analysis," Pierce explained, like this was the most normal thing in the world to be discussing on a train.  
"And then?"  
"By then, if you have no more to do in Eindoak whether it is your job or assignment, you're free to return to your home in Pallet," said Lilith. "Then await further orders from Giovanni." Julia sighed and nodded, just as the train left the dark tunnel and its flashing light behind.

They were now speeding through a forest, the green and black flashing past in a blur with the moon and stars giving a silvery glow onto the world. But there wasn't much to see; the train was travelling so fast that only a few minutes after leaving the tunnel, the forest was thinning out into open plains, the Vale mountain range visible now on the verge of the horizon. The trains in Unova really did travel fast.  
"I trust that you can handle this?"  
"Yes," Julia replied coldly. "Rest assured."  
"Good," Lilith snapped. "You will have a support unit awaiting your arrival in Eindoak." She and Pierce stood.  
"We leave you here Miss Ketchum," Pierce said, louder than the hushed voices before. "Good health to you and your family." They made their way to the carriage door and exited. Curious, Julia stared after them when the sound of an engine roaring to life came from outside, causing many to turn their heads, though somehow only Julia spotted the two figures shoot off with jetpacks carrying them into the darkness.  
"What on earth was that?"  
"Who knows? Anyway, as I was saying-"

Naturally the others were more concerned with their own plans than a sound and quickly everyone returned to what they had been doing before. Julia sighed and tucked the case into her camera case; it'd be so nice to pretend it had gotten stolen when she had fallen asleep, or that she had lost it. But no one would accept those excuses and it would only mean trouble, so Julia leaned against the window as a lake flashed by and the mountains drew closer. How little she knew how this trip would change her life forever...

* * *

Day broke and the train finally drew to a stop outside of the station. From here on out it was on foot to get to Eindoak, though it wasn't an especially long walk to get there. Paths had been established to make travelling to the town easier, especially since the Harvest Festival had become so popular with tourists. Julia checked the Pokétch she had gotten from her last trip to Sinnoh just last month to check for the best route and soon set off along the path. It was soon apparent that she wasn't alone, with many others, trainers and tourists taking the path too. On the ledge above was a tarmac road for vehicle use only; it made sense seeing how treacherous these roads got sometimes though it seemed far safer up there than on the path used for hikers.

The time went by when the path begin to rise into a hill that proved tricky for those with less energy to spare, such as the children who had to be carried by their parents. Julia, who was used to travel, and many of the trainers and frequent hikers had an easier time of the climb, making it to the top or helping the less able. The ground levelled off and a broad bridge stretched across a steep valley to the mountain on the other side and there was Eindoak, built around the mountains natural slopes and curves with tall pillars scattered in what appeared to possibly be a loop of some sort, though it was hard to tell from the angle where they were.

The dirt made way for stone block and Julia made her way across as did many others, though tourists and some trainers stopped to take in the view or take their photos. Julia on the other hand decided to come back after the festival was over when things were less busy. She made her way into the town, onto the cobbled high street where locals were clearly beginning the set up for the festival that was to start in a few days time. Seeing as how many people were arriving early, it might have made sense to book at an inn right away but Julia wanted to contract with the mayor first, as she always did.  
It was a simple formality as most of the paper work was handled by the agency; it just needed both Julia and the mayor to agree on terms and conditions, make any alterations and then sign. The process could take a few minutes to a couple of hours, depending on circumstances and the negotiations. Looking at the memo pad for the directions she was given to the Mayor's estate, Julia continued on despite the fact her feet were feeling the dull beginnings of the aches of walking a long way.

When she arrived up at the estate it was just past noon; it was a beautiful estate with slate tiles on the roof, beautiful gardens and beautiful masonry; clearly the mayor was very well off here. Julia walked up the gravel drive to the oak front door and knocked. It opened and a pair of girls stood in the door way; a tall, curvy red head and the other girl was shorter with black hair.  
"I'm Julia Ketchum, I'm here about the photography job." The red head raised her eye brows and nodded.  
"Go get mum," she said to the shorter girl who nodded and walked off. "Helena. That was my sister, Rose." Julia nodded. Helena leaned against the door frame, looking Julia up and down, sizing her up somewhat when Rose returned by a tall red haired woman, who looked much like the older sister with a curved figure, sharp brown eyes and prominent cheek bones and she seemed to radiate intimidation in the way she carried herself. Julia pulled out the paper work and handed it to the woman who read the sheet carefully.

"Well, it all appears to be in order," she said, folding it up and handing it back to Julia. "My name is Eileen and these are my daughters, Rose and Helena."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Julia said politely, bowing slightly. Eileen smiled kindly, a contrast to the initial intimidating aura she gave off before.  
"And it is a pleasure to meet you and we are grateful you came all this way. My husband will see to you now; he's in his study. This way, if you'd please." Julia followed behind Eileen into the main hall; the walls were panelled with dark brown and the floor was smooth wood too, with a sweeping staircase leading upstairs and multiple doorways leading to other parts of the estate. Helena and Rose whispered between one another and disappeared through one of the doors off from the hallway. Eileen led Julia through a door to the left hand side and down a corridor, passing many other doors, before coming to a stop in front of one. From inside there were two voices, both distinctly male, in deep conversation that stopped dead when Eileen rapped on the door.  
"Come in," one called and both women stepped inside.

It was less of a study than it was a library, with shelves filled with books lined the walls. A model of Eindoak stood on a table nearby, a oak desk stood before full length French windows, and a model of the solar system stood in the corner and there was sofas and arm chairs to the right of the room, currently occupied by the owners of the voices they had heard before. One was a middle-aged man, with short black hair and moustache, olive green eyes and a round belly. The other was a young man, only slightly older than Julia by a year or two with black and white hair and dark blue eyes and a strong build.  
"Mannes dear, this is Miss Ketchum, the one here for the photography job."  
"Ah yes, we've been expecting you Miss Ketchum," said the older man, standing and making his way over with his younger companion close behind. "My name is Mannes, mayor of Eindoak town."  
"It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Julia said, smiling politely whilst shaking his hand.  
"And this strapping young man is Damon," Eileen teased. "A friend of the family." Damon offered his hand which Julia shook as well.  
"I hope that it will be worth your while," he said with a kind smile.  
"Well just looking at this town tells me it will be. It's beautiful here."  
"I'm glad to hear it." Mannes cleared his throat and attention turned to the contract. Both Julia and Mannes went through and made any negotiations and alterations where necessary, though there weren't many and it was finished up about twenty minutes later when they both signed.

"Well that's all of that settled. Now there is the matter of accommodations..."  
"It's fine sir, I was planning on-"  
"No, no. You are free to stay with us as long as you need to," Mannes interrupted.  
"Oh no, I couldn't-"  
"Nonsense," Mannes said loudly. "I insist, after you have come all of the way from Kanto."  
"Kanto?" Damon noted, interested.  
"Um yes. But honestly sir-" But any further protest was shot down by Mannes and Eileen, with Damon noting that she would receive some of the best hospitality and eventually the brunette gave in and was shown to her room.

It was larger than her own room in Pallet town. There was a large bed, boudoir and a wardrobe. The full length windows opened up onto a balcony overlooking the orchards with a small flight of stairs that led into the gardens and a beautiful painting of a lush valley hung on the wall above the head board of the bed.  
"We hope you will be comfortable," said Mannes.  
"It's lovely sir, thank you. I don't know how I'm to repay you-"  
"Oh think nothing of it dear girl," Mannes cut over, waving it off. "Make yourself at home, please I do insist. Now Damon," he said, turning to the young man. "I believe we will continue our discussion at another time. How about showing Miss Ketchum around town?"  
"I wouldn't mind."  
"What? Oh no, don't bother. I'll be fine."  
"Well we wouldn't want you getting lost," Eileen pointed out. "And you'll want to see the castle and no one knows it better than Damon. Trust me; he's one of your best options." Judging by the look on her face, Julia detected some kind of double meaning but sighed and agreed anyway. After all, Damon seemed nice enough, what could go wrong?


	3. Damon Grangil

The Sword of the Vale was Eindoak's main tourist attraction; it was a historic landmark that was the source of various legends and myths. Its name came from the style of the structure, appearing to be a huge stone sword that had been thrust into the mountain top, supposedly with chambers forming a blade hidden within the rock, though that was part of a legend from long ago.  
The town of Eindoak had grown outwards from the Sword, as evident by the fact that the oldest buildings in Eindoak were closest to the castle, whilst the newer buildings were further out, with the apparent change becoming more obvious as you passed through. Damon and Julia were walking through the older district of the town and it was evident that there was restoration work in progress. Steel supports were up and several times, they had to make detours as parts of the plumbing were being replaced in the road and there was no real pavement to speak of; just long, dirty ditches fringed with the remains of the path for home owners to get in and out of their houses.

"I'm sorry that you have to see the mess right now," said Damon, as they turned down yet another side path, with the section of the main path being closed off. "It's never normally this chaotic."  
"It's alright, it's best that it gets sorted sooner rather than later, right? Better than something going wrong without warning," Julia replied casually. "Besides, I'm sure things will look even better when they're done." Damon chuckled.  
"I suppose that's true. Thankfully they're not getting rid of the old buildings; sometimes I think they're preferable. They have a sort of look to them that the newer buildings just don't compare to in a way. You can tell that this place has a story to it."  
"Hmm. But I guess they have a tendency to be expensive?"  
"In this area, yes, so I don't live around here. I'm nowhere near rich," He said, laughing.  
"No, really? Would've thought you were a millionaire," Julia exclaimed, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. They laughed as they came to the roughly cut stone steps that led up to the castle. They were steep and right along the edge of the cliff; thankfully they were broad or else Julia would have been apprehensive about going up them at all.

"So Miss Ketchum-"  
"You don't have to call me that," she said, interrupting him. "I prefer Julia to be honest."  
"All right Julia. How long will your stay in Eindoak be? Out of curiosity, if you don't mind."  
"About a week... Maybe two if it takes long enough. It all comes down to how long the photos take to clean up. The company always ask me to stay put until they check the photos, just in case there was anything I might have missed or that might need redoing. And I need to cover as much as possible whilst I'm here," she said, somewhat absent-mindedly. She always thought it was a bit stupid with this kind of event, as you couldn't replicate large portions of it, so it made little sense. But it was part of the job and that was what the boss expected of her, so best to get on with it. The view from the steps was astounding, though the drop made her a little nervous, as it grew steeper as the castle entrance grew closer.

The castle itself truly towered over the landscape from this view, grand and imposing, it made Julia feel incredibly small.

* * *

They carried upwards when they came to the wall of a castle with an arch way leading inside. The stone entrance led into a small room with two flights of stairs, one up and the other down. Damon led Julia up the steps, through a narrow, poorly lit passage way that opened up onto a larger corridor. Pillars held up the stone ceiling, whilst sunlight broke in through slit like windows and the walls were lined with tapestries, portraits and artifacts, such as vases and busts stood on pedestals, evenly spaced. Some, however, were empty, which Damon explained as they walked down the corridor, the sounds of their footsteps echoing on the stone walls.

"There's some restoration work going on here as well right now, so some things were moved into storage whilst the work's going on. This hallway was finished just yesterday so the antiques are being returned, though the work is still going on in other parts of the castle."  
"I see," Julia noted, pausing to look at one of the tapestries, showing a beautiful valley with the Sword of the Vale at its heart. Light green patterns were threaded into the fabric and it seemed to tell part of a story, though some of the other tapestries were yet to be put up again. Julia frowned... Unusual energy patterns and an unexplained pattern, woven into a picture? Perhaps they were linked somehow...

"Julia," Damon called. She looked up and saw him waiting further down the hall. "Coming?" With one last glance at the tapestry, Julia caught up with him, slightly embarrassed that she had allowed herself to fall behind. But he just smiled and said: "I suppose something caught your interest?"  
"Yes, that tapestry was quite fascinating."  
They walked on, mostly just looking around with minimum conversation so their steps filled the silence. It was a little uncomfortable at first and perhaps Damon noticed this, as he said: "Would you like to see one of the balconies? The view is superb." Julia grinned.  
"Are you trying to tempt me?"

They stepped out onto the balcony, the sun hitting them at full force and after the cool dark of the castle it made Julia blink to adjust to the sudden brightness before taking in the surroundings. She and Damon were stood on a fairly large platform, and the balustrade marked the edge of the balcony.

Walking over, Julia could see the long drop and suddenly she felt glad for the stone wall beneath her hands right now. The surroundings were fantastic, with the greenery of the forest contrasting with the greys of the mountains and the reds, greys and whites of the town, which looked like a child's toy model from so high up, with tiny, bustling black specks as the towns people walked to and fro about their day, like all was right in the world. Well in their world it was. In fact, it sort of reminded her of Pallet Town; its kind locals so ignorant to the tyrant that had been born from it and the unending discord between forces of darkness. The simple happiness they felt and their mundane lives of working, studying and just living comfortably was felt in this place too, as well as in many others. If only they knew...

"Julia, are you okay?" She looked up, caught a little off guard to see a flicker of concern in Damon's eyes.  
"Oh, yeah. This place just kinda reminds me of home," Julia replied. "I suppose I was staring off into space?" Damon nodded, chuckling. "Sorry."  
"Don't be. You just looked a bit sad."  
"Well I'm not always at home. For a couple of weeks at the most before going off for work again, so there's nothing to worry about. C'mon, there's gotta be more to see."

With a grin, Damon continued to show Julia through the castle, the pair now feeling more relaxed as he told her about some of the castle's history, stopping every now and then to look at some of the artwork that had recently been restored. They took quite a while getting around, in fact by the time they arrived at the King's Chamber at the top of the castle the sun was sinking slowly, castling a red glow over the earth.  
"Is it really getting that late already?" Julia wondered, as they came to a pedestal stood in the pulpit overlooking Eindoak.  
"The time flew by, didn't it?" Julia nodded as they wondered around.

In the centre of the cavernous room was a hole in the floor and from it tall structure, made of four golden pillars stood. The pillars held up a small marble platform several feet above their heads and in the ceiling there was a similar object pointing downwards though not as long. There was a strange squared pattern embossed in the gold, clearly a part of the People of the Vale's culture as many people in the town wore something very similar.  
Peering down, Julia saw that the hole lead down into a second chamber and saw arch after arch filled with Solosis and Duosion, the green blob-like pokémon clearly having made their home there. "These pokémon were born in the castle. They're the descendants of the Solosis, Duosion and Reuniclus who lived here when the castle was built," Damon explained, smiling at the pokémon like old friends.  
"That must be a very long time now."  
"Yes, four thousand years to be precise. That's when the castle was built and the Kingdom of the Vale began. Unfortunately, three thousand years later, the kingdom was torn apart by war, after which the People of the Vale scattered everywhere."  
"I see..."

"That's where the Kingdom of the Vale once stood," Damon said, pointing to a valley in the distance, settled between two mountains. Unlike the rest of the area, that was green, vivid and full of life, it was grey, barren and void of any greenery. In comparison with the rest of the land, it was completely dead. "Nothing has lived there since the war ended." Julia had no reply, thinking instead of the current war. The one that would change everything depending on the outcome. One day, if Giovanni got his way, everything would be as dead and lifeless as that valley... It was a thought Julia couldn't quite stomach, though it didn't show on her face. Instead she stared vacantly over the Vale mountains, like she wasn't really awake. "We'd best get going," said Damon, jolting her back into the real world. "It'll be dark soon and I doubt you'd want to take those steps back down when you can't see well."  
"Yeah, I- Hey. How'd you notice that?" He grinned.  
"You just told me right now." Giving him a short scowl, Julia followed Damon back through the castle and down the stone steps.

* * *

By the time they were walking back through the streets, night had fallen and the lamps lit the greys and reds with a pleasant orange glow. The evening was very warm, with barely a trace of a breeze and already Julia wanted to take photos from the beautiful simplicity of it all. Damon must have noticed because he asked if she'd like to stop in the pub for a drink, which she ended up agreeing to in the end, though she refused to let him pay for hers.

They sat outside, sipping their drinks and chatting lightly.  
"So Damon, got any family around here?"  
"Yes actually, my mother and younger sister. Though my sister's been away travelling for a while she'll probably be back for the festival. And you?"  
"I've got my mother, younger sister and brother. Though the latter two are off travelling as well; my brother and sister do nothing but travel," she said with a laugh. "And because I'm normally off working, when they _do_ come home I barely see them. Haven't seen my brother since he competed in the Kanto Battle Frontier a couple of years ago."  
"Really? That's a long time not to see your brother. Though I'm not much better. I haven't been in touch with my family for six months now." Julia frowned.  
"How come?"  
"I've been travelling myself until recently and there wasn't really any time or any means. I intend to try and find them at some point, but my work keeps me in the castle most days," he explained sombrely and Julia looked down. She could understand that; she rarely got to speak to her own mother and siblings. She was denied seeing her mother at any time other than the summer for fifteen years and now work was keeping her away from home too. It was a sad reality, being unable to see much of your family. It was selfish of Julia to think of herself as worse off in a way, because though she had no choice and Damon did, it didn't stop the fact that neither of them was in touch with their families like they should be. "So Julia, I'm guessing you'll be looking around town more thoroughly tomorrow?" She looked up.

"Yes, definitely. I know it'll be worthwhile," she replied. "It's already caught my eye in a lot of ways."  
"Well what about I showed you around? I'm sure Mannes wouldn't mind me taking the day off to help you out."  
"Oh no, really, don't bother. Besides, you'll be busy won't you?" Damon leaned back.  
"Not really, the restoration is almost finished. A few more days and it'll be done and I know a lot of the guys are taking the next few days off to help prepare for the festival."  
"...I don't know..."  
"C'mon, it'll be fun. Trust me; I know some of the best spots in town."  
"Oh really?" Julia said, eyebrows raised and smirking. "And I don't suppose that this is just you trying to get a day off?"  
"Of course not," Damon said, looking falsely offended. "I would never dream of it." Julia laughed and nodded.  
"Okay, okay. I'll take you up on that offer. But if I'm not one hundred percent satisfied, you buy drinks next time."  
"Hey, I would've but you wouldn't let me!" Julia just laughed more when there was a cheer of victory.

"I KNEW IT!" Two young men ran over and clapped him on the back; one was very tall with dark hair that hung over his brown eyes, whilst his companion was stocky with chestnut hair and dark grey eyes. "Damon, buddy when were you gonna tell us you got a girlfriend?"  
"Not bad looking either."  
"She's not-" Damon began, only for the tall one to cut him off.  
"Sure she's not." He winked at the now red-faced Damon. "C'mon mate, we've been best friends since we were kids you can tell us anything!" The other nodded, smirking.  
"Oh, where are our manners?" He said suddenly, turning to Julia. "Mi'name's Steven and this hoof is Zacc," he jabbed a finger at his friend who gave Julia a hearty grin. "And your name?"  
"Julia Ketchum," she replied shortly, trying her hardest not to giggle as Zacc harassed Damon further. "And I assure you, he's not my boyfriend," she added with a trace of amusement in her voice.  
"Are you sure? Well, I've never seen you around mi'self. So what brings you to Eindoak?"  
"Strictly business. I'm here to photograph the town and festival for a tour guide booklet," she explained shortly, in a tone that carried the hint of there was no more to explain. Zacc grinned and clapped Damon on the shoulder again.

"Oh well mate, maybe you'll get lucky," he chuckled. "Well, we best be off. We've got tomorrow mornin' off and me mam has asked me to help her set up. Night!" He and Steven walked off, waving cheerily and quickly turned to whisper to each other. Damon was still red in the face, though the colour was slowly draining now his friends were gone.  
"Sorry about them. They're just a bit-"  
"Desperate to hook you up with someone?"  
"Something like that," he muttered. "So, tomorrow then?" Julia nodded before they stood and returned to Mannes' estate, though they unconsciously kept a gap between themselves because even though it hadn't shown for a second, Julia had too been left feeling incredibly uncomfortable and embarrassed by the encounter and didn't wish for a repeat. She just had this uncanny ability to not let it slip so easily.

* * *

They arrived at the estate and let themselves in. Damon muttered something about having to go and talk to Mannes, so Julia excused herself to her room.

She shut the door and froze for a moment. Three silhouettes were stood by the window, though when one of them spoke, Julia allowed herself to relax.  
"Well kid, you just gonna stare or shall we get down to business?" Jessie. Julia switched on the lights and there she was, with James and Meowth and all three of them looking strangely serious.  
"You three always liked your dramatics," noted Julia, smirking and sitting on the end of her bed. "Been a while."  
"Indeed. I trust that Pierce and Lilith delivered the device?"  
"Yeah, I got it. Anything else?" Jessie's lips pursed slightly and she pulled out a disc.  
"The corresponding disc for the device. The boss ordered it be sent separately for safety reasons; install it onto your computer and the data you collect will be translated on this. You will then pass this onto us before returning to Kanto." Julia took the small black case containing the disc, opened it and examined it. If you showed it to anyone, they'd say it was a standard CD for music, nothing nefarious.  
"Right, and I suppose you have your own work to be carrying out?"  
"Yep," said Meowth. "So we'll be pretty busy ourselves, so ya can't depend on us for help all of da time." Julia rolled her eyes.  
"I think that's everything-"

"Wait Jessie, remember? Pierce is here working on his own mission. If you happen to see him, you must not show recognition," James instructed.  
"Okay, anything else?" She repeated. James shook his head. "Right then, I'll see you around." 'When did they get so serious?' She thought to herself.  
"Right. We'll meet here in three days, the night before the festival." And with that they were gone; they opened the window-door and slipped out onto the balcony, leaping down and disappearing into the darkness as Julia flopped down onto the bed. It was incredibly soft and she sank slightly into the mattress, but all she could think was 'why me?'


	4. A Day Out

The following day was just as warm as the previous, if not warmer. The sky was pristine blue with not a cloud in sight and all around Eindoak's orchards, the wild pokémon could be seen basking in the sun's golden glow whilst children were running around the streets, making the most of the sunshine by playing whatever games they wanted. A group of boys and girls were playing football in the plaza just as Julia and Damon were walking by, chatting when the ball sailed over and landed by Damon's feet.

"Could you pass us our ball please mister?" One of them called. Grinning, Damon kicked the ball back and it went right into their makeshift goal. The kids cheered in awe before continuing their game as the pair continued on their way.

"Because that wasn't showing off at all," Julia noted dryly. Damon laughed as they walked around to the railing at the edge of the plaza. A distance away a stage was being set up, clearly for the festival. At the railing Julia could see the steep drop down the cliff into a narrow valley below. "You people really like your steep drops, don't you?" Julia said as she turned back to look around the plaza and noticed just how busy it was, not just with people going about their lives but stalls being set up, bunting being strung between lamp posts and various workers talking over plans and pointing around, discussing the placements of lights for the evening portion of the festival.

There were still two days left to go, but the anticipation was building all of the time now as it drew nearer and people were bustling to and fro, setting up stalls or stocking their shops for the big event. When they passed a small bakery, they spotted Steven heaving sacks of flour through a back door and he threw them a cheery grin. Damon showed no desire to stop and chat, probably to avoid another round of embarrassment like the previous evening, so he and Julia continued on through the town, Damon in the lead as he showed Julia some excellent hot spots of activity.

* * *

The town fountain was pretty popular; the round pool with a beautiful sculpture depicting two dragons intertwined with one another; one mammalian, the other reptilian in appearance, and beside them were two men, carved into black and white stone in a stance of power and grandeur. Tourists were pausing to photograph the sculpture or sit on the edge of the pool to cool down from the summer heat. Two children were stood by the edge, hands clasped together, eyes screwed closed in concentration before they each dropped something into the water. Beaming, they ran off back to their parents, whom they chattered excitedly to.

"People make wishes by throwing coins into the fountain," Damon explained. "Like a wishing well."

"I've seen those around. Kids seem to like it the most," Julia noted, smiling warmly. "I never really got the chance when I was little. There wasn't one where I grew up."

"Do you want to?" She looked up at him, perturbed by the question. "C'mon, it's a bit of fun."

"Really?" She frowned. "How is it?"

"Give it a try. Everyone does it at least once," he said, nudging her with his elbow. Sighing and feeling a little stupid, she approached the fountain with Damon. The bottom of the pool was covered with pale blue tiles, with bronze coins scattered over the surface. They were countless; so many little dreams, hopes and wishes cast into this fountain. Julia reached a hand into her pocket and pulled out a small bronze coin which she clenched in her fist. It didn't matter what she might wish for, it wouldn't change anything. So she simply though, 'I hope I can be happy,' and tossed it in.

Simple and unlikely but oh well. It wasn't like she was going to tell anyone. She caught sight of Damon, looking expectantly at her.

"I'm not telling." He laughed and nodded.

"Fair enough. Shall we move on?"

* * *

The Eindoak Orchards were the source of Eindoak's economy, being the cause for the Harvest Festival, being a source of exports and food for the locals. As such, they were a popular spot to walk around and explore, with plentiful, fat, juicy berries hanging from the trees, just right for the picking. The sun was dappled through the leaves, casting a soft amber glow over the greenery as the sun sunk gently through the sky. A sweet, honey suckle aroma drifted through the air as the wild pokémon basked in the summer sun.

Damon and Julia had stopped to sit on a low stone wall that separated a pathway from the hill to rest their feet for a while, each with a cup of coffee in hand, drinking casually. It was late afternoon by now and conversation was rather casual, calm and collected. Every so often, people would pass by and greet them good naturedly when they did. Damon seemed to know most of the locals who walked by, some old friends, others who seemed to have known him as a child. Clearly, he was pretty well known. Julia looked down on the town, which was visible over the tree line. So much like Pallet Town. And now Team Rocket wanted to take advantage of it in whatever was they could. Typical.

"It's nice how peaceful it is here," Damon commented. "Never much trouble."

'Not for long,' Julia thought. 'Not if he has anything to say about it.' But Julia didn't say that, of course. Instead she replied: "Yeah... It reminds me of home." Damon opened his mouth to reply, when a buzzing cut him off. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small phone and answered.

"Hello." Julia looked the other way, peering up the pathway as he talked. There was no sight of anyone approaching. Julia took a glance back at Damon. He actually made her feel quite relaxed now, not the uncomfortable feeling from before. He showed her nothing but kindness and had a sort of tentativeness to her, making sure she was okay despite the fact they had known each other barely two days. He really made her feel welcome here and was pretty friendly. She knew it was risky, considering the nature of her time in Eindoak besides her work. But she felt relaxed around him and from time to time, she allowed herself to make friends. Perhaps this would be one of those times.

"Okay. Yep, I'll tell her. It was Mannes," he said, slipping the phone back into his pocket. "He and Eileen have invited us to join them for dinner tonight."

"Really?" He nodded. "I dunno... I mean-"  
"Do you ever let yourself have some time off?" He chuckled. "It'll be fun."

"You said that about the fountain," she replied flatly.

"I promise," he said. "Besides, you've barely gotten to know Helena and Rose. You know, their daughters."

"Will I want to?"

"They're nice enough... Well Helena's a bit iffy at first, but once you get to know her, she's alright. Bit strange though," he said vaguely. "Don't worry though, they don't bite." Julia looked down at her feet. If she refused, she might offend Mannes and Eileen which she couldn't afford to do for the sake of her job. But Julia didn't like going out in big groups; one or two people was okay, like with Damon at the pub, but several people was a bit further out of her comfort zone. But she liked Damon, and if he was there then maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

"Fine, but if I don't have a good time, then you buy drinks," she smirked. "If we went again, I mean." He grinned back at her.

"Well we could go afterwards," he suggested. "As long as my friends don't spot us."

"Why, do I embarrass you?" She joked. Reminding her about the last time his friends had seen them together at the pub and Julia grimaced a little at the memory. Agreeing that it was a good point, Julia and Damon slipped off of the wall and made their way back down the path into town.

* * *

"We're glad that you both decided to join us," said Mannes. Damon and Julia had arrived at a small restaurant in town. There was a balcony where Mannes and his family were sat, with two vacant seats which they took. There was a canopy, casting shade over the table and a small lantern sat in the centre, giving off a soft orange glow in the dying sunlight.

"It's a pleasure to be invited sir," Julia replied, as she and Damon seated themselves. It was at that point that Julia registered the traces of a sulky glare on Helena's features, though she couldn't figure out why. A waiter appeared with menus and everyone began to order what they wanted to eat.

Julia, who had dined in many places around the world (including the famous Seven Star Restaurant in Sinnoh), wasn't with extremely high expectations. So when the food arrived and she took a bite, it took her by surprise. The fruit was juicy and succulent, leaving a tingling after taste that made her want more. The meat was even more so, rich and mouth watering; so much so, she soon found she had to slow down to make it last. It went to show, even small towns like Eindoak were capable of producing such high quality foods. In fact, it was probably one of the reasons it was such a hot spot for tourists.

Great sights, famous landmark, good food; what more would you want?

Dessert apparently.

The ice cream was smooth, rich and creamy; a welcome cool down from the day's heat. All locally made, no imports from other towns or regions. One hundred percent home grown. It was lush.

'If Ash could taste this now, I wonder whether or not he'd stay here just for the food,' Julia thought jokingly. 'But then again, he's got Brock for that.' Brock was an old friend of Ash's who he often travelled with. The only exception Julia could think of was during Ash's time in the Orange Islands, when Brock remained as an assistant to Professor Ivy. However, it seemed to have ended badly. Julia had come home from Almia, a region that was just a little south of Sinnoh, to find Brock in the kitchen cooking lunch.

When asked what had happened with Professor Ivy, Brock refused to speak, leading Julia to believe she had dumped him. It wouldn't be a surprise. It always happened to him. After Ash came home, the two took off travelling again and the last she had seen of them was back in the Kanto Battle Frontier.

When dinner was over and done with, the group leaned back in their seats, stomachs full and a wonderfully warm feeling that came from the satisfaction of a good meal whelmed up inside.

"Well, now that's done and dusted," started Eileen. "What's everyone been up to today?"

Helena and Rose launched into a very long, very dull story about going out with their friends and some boys they had seen and all sorts of silly rubbish. Mannes explained his preparations for the festival in particular detail, probably for Julia's sake, though it wasn't really all that necessary. Damon and Julia said, rather shortly, "Looked around town."  
The glare returned to Helena's face which made Julia raise an eyebrow. The pieces fell into place just then: she fancied Damon and didn't like him hanging around girls that weren't her. Typical over obsessive fan girls. 'So they really do exist then?' Julia thought privately. But no one else seemed to notice, so Julia pretended she hadn't seen anything either, when she was almost shocked out of her skin.

"Julia? Julia Ketchum?"

Julia turned so fast in her seat, it almost wasn't funny. Standing behind her was a young man, a little younger than herself with messy brown hair and dark eyes. By his feet, stood a Meowth. But this Meowth was even more unusual than Team Rocket's; this Meowth wore a pair of boots, a red scarf and a dark blue hat with a long cream feather tucked in at the brim. "It's Tyson. From the Evergrande League? It's been nearly three years now..."

"Tyson... Tyson? Is that really you?" Julia grinned and felt a bit stupid for her reaction, but was glad to see him none the less. Tyson was an old rival and friend of Ash's and the victor of the Evergrande League Tournament. Julia had been one of the photographers for the event and had made several acquaintances during the tournament, including Tyson. "Long time no see." He nodded.  
"Three years, if I remember. Are you here for the competition? I remember your Espeon was made of serious stuff." Julia chuckled.

"Nope, sorry but I'm here on business. If you wanted that battle with Espeon, then you'll probably have to wait," she teased. "We're busy."

"Darn it and here I was hoping we could settle this once and for all. Maybe next time?"

"Maybe next time- Oh, sorry." Julia had just realised the confused looks of the others. "This is Tyson, an old acquaintance." There was a sudden round of hellos and introductions from the rest of the group, with Rose's attention lingering on Tyson a moment or two longer.

"Would you care to join us?" Mannes invited.

"Oh no sir, as much as I would like to, I hate to impose," said Tyson, blushing slightly. "Besides, Meowth and I have some training to do for the competition." Meowth nodded adamantly, glaring as usual. Julia wondered if he ever had an alternative facial expression.

"Maybe next time?" Julia smirked.

"Maybe be next time," Tyson replied, grinning. "Well, we'd better go before it gets too dark. I don't fancy getting lost on the way to the inn-"

"I could show you the way," Rose offered, jumping at the chance. "I know the fastest way from here!"

"Really? I mean, if you don't mind-"

"No, of course I don't mind! C'mon, follow me! Daddy, I'll see you at the house later," Rose said, seizing Tyson's arm, much to the latter's surprise indicated by his reddening face.

"Okay dear," Eileen said, before Mannes could protest. "Just be careful." Assuring her mother that she would, Rose led Tyson and Meowth down the steps to the pavement and disappeared up the darkening road. Mannes was now muttering to his wife, probably not happy about his daughter walking around with some boy she had just met, which Eileen rolled her eyes at. Julia and Damon shared a look when Helena leaned over.

"So Damon, are you up to anything tomorrow?" He threw a desperate look at Julia, begging her to go along with whatever his excuse might be.

"Well actually-"

"Because I wouldn't mind hanging out."

"Um you see-" She leaned a little closer to him.

"Seriously, just you and me-"  
"Actually, I was going to go out with Julia," he said hurriedly.

In that moment, Julia fought very hard to maintain her composure and not look like this was news to her. Helena's glare was so venomous, Julia was surprised she hadn't melted into a puddle in her seat. She knew full well that Damon hadn't meant it in that context, but he could've worded his excuse a bit better.

"Right," Julia inputted. "Thought it'd be a good idea to refresh the parts of town to photograph. Wouldn't want to miss all of the action by getting lost."

"Oh," Helena said shortly. "Well okay. I just remembered that Joe invited me to the cafe anyway." She sounded very bitter in that moment, as though victory had been snatched from her and now she was trying to make Damon jealous. It didn't work in the slightest.

"Well... Okay... I think I'm done, so I'm gonna catch up with the others in the pub," he said, standing up.

"I think I'll go too," Julia said quickly, not wanting to be left alone with Helena. "Thank you Mannes, Eileen."

"You're both welcome dears," Eileen said warmly, throwing Helena a warning glance. With a last goodbye, Julia and Damon hurried down the steps away from Helena's evil glower.

* * *

"Thank you Julia," Damon sighed in relief. "You just saved my ass."

They were sat outside the pub again, but strategically chose a table behind a large, flowering shrub to conceal themselves. Even Steven and Zacc, who they heard chatting loudly as they walked past, didn't spot them, which Damon didn't seem to mind too much.

"You're welcome. So... Tomorrow?" He looked up at her and nodded.

"Tomorrow."

"Wouldn't want Helena catching you alone, now would we? I thought you said she was alright."

"Well she can be... When she's not being so- So..."

"Forward," Julia finished dryly. "Honestly, I felt like she was gonna bite my head off when you said that." Damon just grinned sheepishly as he sipped his drink.

"I've always been told I need to word things better. The way I said it made it sound like we were going on a date."

"Why do you think I said about refreshing the layout of the town?" Julia sighed, exasperated. "And I think I'll be one of the ones telling you to word things better. It was pretty embarrassing you know."

"Really? You looked so calm," Damon said, eye brows raised.

"It was tough, believe me." He just laughed. "So I believe you're paying tonight." When he cried in protest, Julia cocked her eyebrow. "There is nothing fun about being glared at. C'mon, cough up and I'll get us refills." Glaring playfully, he pulled out his wallet and slapped the cash into her outstretched palm.

Grinning cheekily, Julia took the glasses and went inside, passing the empty glasses over the bar and ordering their drinks. At this point, Julia was sure she had found a friend in Damon. They had become so casual around one another, it was rather nice. But she hoped he didn't make another dumb slip up like he had with Helena. Honestly, he seemed so clever sometimes and then he made dumb mistakes like that. But perhaps that had been from the pressure of avoiding Helena at all costs. Couldn't blame the poor guy, Julia thought. She seemed like a very snobby, stuck up cow.

Julia returned to the table, drinks in hand and slipped some money back towards him.

"Hey, I thought-"

"That's the money for your own drink. Essentially, I used your cash to buy mine," she laughed. Smirking, Damon took it and slipped it back into his wallet. It'd be nice, to be able to do this kind of thing more often. Perhaps some day, in the future, she could do just that.

Just be happy.


	5. The Battle Competition & Victini!

_Snap! _

Julia looked at the camera screen, satisfied with the shot she had just taken and took off running up the path again. The battle had been intense and thrilling, but there was no time to hang around. If she was to photograph the whole festival, she couldn't wait for a battle to be over. It would drag out and take too long, then she'd never get finished. So with Espeon at her heels, Julia went on the hunt for another battle to snap. Luckily, there were always signals that would tell her where to go and referees to follow to the thick of it. So many trainers ran back and forth, both visitors and locals alike. And in Eindoak's more narrow streets, the battling seemed more impressive, with pokémon having to take advantage of whatever ground they could gain. In fact, earlier that morning, Julia had spotted a Snorlax taking up the whole pavement and left little room to dodge. It had won with ease against its opponent, a Sawk.

The summer heat was in full swing today; the heat was sweltering and the sun was relentless. Julia had to take care with sun screen that morning to prevent the painful burns she was all too familiar with as a child. And she wasn't the only one; she spotted children having the cream rubbed onto their faces by their mothers before they were allowed to go out to the festival, much to their irritation. Other attendants were taking refuge in the shade of awnings and trees, others drinking cold drinks whilst most people looked pretty well dressed for the weather. Julia had opted for her boots and blue dress again, her camera bag swinging from her shoulder when a loud boom of battle caught her attention, sending her sprinting off and Espeon running to keep up.

The Eindoak Battle Competition was the main feature of the whole event, with trainers from near and far arriving to compete. The competition was a free-for-all knock out tournament, in which each trainer wore a wooden charm, shaped like a shield with the Sword of the Vale carved into it. There were no substitutions in battle and if a trainer lost or was disqualified, the necklace was given to the referee. Only when one trainer remained did the tournament end.

* * *

The festival was every bit as lively as anyone would expect; the action was constant, the stalls always bustling with browsers and people everywhere were chatting excitedly. On one occasion, Julia and Espeon spotted a man actually running a betting pool on the victor of the competition, as the number of competitors began to dwindle and many people were making bets and discussing odds. She didn't stop to listen to what they were saying, instead, stopping to photograph a stall with a particularly friendly woman who seemed keen to chat a little. Julia had left the stall with a small charm with the legendary pokémon, Victini attached to her camera bag and a small wooden carving, something nice to give to her mother when she got back to Pallet Town. Julia always made a point to get something for her.

Around midday though, the energy seemed to lull, with trainers and pokémon pausing to rest and eat, recuperating their energy. Julia decided to take a short break herself in the pub, taking a glass of ice water to cool off. Damon wasn't out today; he was up in the castle, having been unable to get away from work for once. A slight disappointment, but after seeing Helena prowling around, measuring up every male she set her eyes on, Julia thought it might be a better idea if Damon wasn't there to be actively compared to every other man at the festival. Still, she had been hoping to hang out with him at the festival, rather than walk around on her own... Except for Espeon.

Espeon was another way of finding the battles. Her fur was so sensitive, she could detect vibrations in the air, so she could pinpoint a battle and predict the weather too, which was always a handy thing to have. It saved Julia from going out without an umbrella, only for it to rain. All in all, Espeon was probably the most useful pokémon for the job today, and she played her role perfectly. When there was no obvious signs, she was the one to turn to and she found ones so easily, anyone would think it was down purely to her psychic powers. If only, Julia would think with a grin. Espeon seemed to forget about her psychic powers from time to time and it made simple tasks hilariously funny for Julia and her other pokémon. Umbreon never seemed to stop teasing her about it.

Julia had a fifteen minute break when Espeon mewed and jabbed her tail towards the door. Knowing that it meant that the battles were starting up again, Julia left the tip on the bar and hurried out again, following Espeon who was leading the way. With fewer trainers left in the running, there was more difficulty to find one another, but when a battle did start up, it was no laughing matter. These were the trainers who were nearing the end, getting closer to seizing the while tournament. All of them were psyched and ready to battle on the spot, confidence building up as the thought of victory felt like a reality now. But this overconfidence would be the undoing for some and led to their elimination. But there was a battle in the plaza she wouldn't want to miss for the whole world...

Julia and Espeon arrived in the plaza during the final moments of the battle. Samurott vs. Tepig. For a moment, Julia predicted victory for the Samurott, until an unmistakable voice commanded: "Tepig, use Ember once more!" Julia had her camera raised, but she couldn't help but look up. Her finger slipped and the camera flashed, somehow capturing a perfect photo of the Tepig and its trainer before a massive swell of flames burst forth, swallowing Samurott whole and forcing everyone in the area to avert their eyes from the burning glare. The heat burned powerfully over them all, in addition to the already hot air. When it finally faded, Julia looked up. Samurott was unconscious and covered in nasty burns whilst Tepig simply looked completely bemused. There was a pause, before the crowd broke into applause, as Tepig's trainer cheered, picking up the pokémon and praising it, whilst the other boy quickly recalled his Samurott, tossed his scarf over his shoulder and stalked off. Julia smiled and began to walk over.

The boy was rather small and skinny, with tanned skin, brown eyes and scruffy black hair stuffed into a cap.  
"What an unexpected flavour," a taller, green haired boy said. "Simply delicious." With them was a dark skinned girl, with voluminous violet hair which, oddly enough, had an Axew poking out of it. A Pikachu and Scraggy were cheering too, clearly congratulating Tepig when it was set on the ground again.

"I can see you haven't lost your touch," Julia commented loudly, catching the trio's attention. The shorter boy looked around, when his face split into a grin.  
"Julia! What are you doing here?" He said, running up and flinging his arms around her.  
"Well Ash, unlike you, some of us have to work for a living," she laughed, petting his head. "So, are you going to introduce me to your friends?"  
"Huh? Oh right," he said, letting go. "Julia, this is Iris and Cilan. Guys, this is my older sister, Julia."

"It's nice to meet you," said Cilan, bowing politely. "My name's Cilan, I'm a Pokémon Connoisseur." Iris on the other hand, turned to Ash and glared at him.  
"You never said you had an older sister," she accused.  
"Actually, he has two," Julia added slyly, trying not to laugh as Ash rubbed the back of his neck and muttered something along the lines of: 'it never seemed important.' "So Ash, tell me where's Brock, Max and May? I thought they'd be with you."

It was true, there was no sign of the self-proclaimed ladies-man, the brunette co-ordinator or her swottish younger brother, all of whom had been accompanying Ash when they last met.  
"Well Brock's gone back home to train to be a pokémon doctor," Ash explained. "Max is back at home in Hoenn whilst, last time I checked, May was it Johto. I'm not sure if she's still there though."  
"I see. Well," Julia turned to Iris and Cilan. "It's nice to meet you both."

* * *

Ash seemed very excited about seeing his older sister again; he told her all about his last journey to Sinnoh, his friend Dawn and about them helping to thwart Team Galactic, parting ways with his friends and then went onto to talking about his Unova journey so far. Iris and Cilan kept interjecting, adding their own comments on events with Iris mentioning every once in a while how much of a little kid Ash was sometimes. Eventually they stopped in a small park to take a short break.

Espeon had yet to detect another battle going on, meaning it was getting down to the final competitors now. Pikachu, Scraggy and Axew were playing nearby on some colourful tyres that had been wedged into the ground, Scraggy practising its Headbutt attack, whilst Ash took a drink from the water fountain and his friends and sister sat on a bench in the shade of a leafy oak tree.

"Hey, why not battle me?" They all looked up. A girl, maybe about sixteen years old, was standing there with a Hydreigon. She had dark blue eyes and spiky blue hair, whilst her clothing was a clear indicator that she was from the area. She wore the traditional pattern of the People of the Vale on her hat and jumper. Her Hydreigon was clearly a shiny pokémon, with its three heads and body green rather than blue, and the accents were purple rather than red. All in all, it was a pretty intimidating pokémon.

Ash looked up, grinning and ran forward.  
"I never pass up a chance to battle," he declared. "Let's do it!"  
"Scrag!" The Shedding Pokémon hoisted up its baggy skin and rushed over, glaring down Hydreigon, taking everyone by surprise.  
"So Scraggy's your choice?" The girl asked. Ash looked down at his young partner, who nodded.

"Right, you bet!"  
"Wait, Scraggy?!" Iris exclaimed, jumping to her feet.  
"This might not go down as easily as the battle with Tepig," Cilan mused.  
"But Scraggy_ is_ a part fighting type, whilst Hydreigon is part dark type. Surely that's give Scraggy some advantage?" Julia pointed out, as she fiddled with her camera.

"Maybe," Iris replied vaguely. "But isn't Hydreigon the coolest ever!" Her eyes lit up and Cilan rolled his own to the sky.  
"Iris is training to be a Dragon Master in the future," he explained. "So she gets quite excited around dragon types."  
"I see," Julia laughed. This was a good opportunity to get some good photos, so she stood up and stood by the tyres with Axew and Pikachu. At that moment a referee arrived and took his position between the two trainers, though judging from his flushed face, he had been dashing around all day.

"We'll take the first move," said Ash. "Scraggy use Headbu- Huh?" Scraggy didn't wait for him to finish the command; he charged head first at Hydreigon, leaping upwards only for the much larger pokémon to simply flick its head and send Scraggy flying backwards into a nearby bush. Everyone peered, wondering if that was the battle done, when all of a sudden, a yellow blur shot into the air and Scraggy landed perfectly where it had started: in front of Ash, staring down the bemused Hydreigon who had clearly not expected a comeback. "You're revved up to win! Alright Scraggy, use Headbutt!"

Julia's camera flashed right on time, as Scraggy shot like a bullet, pummelling Hydreigon in the chest and, impossibly, sending the huge pokémon flying backwards up a flight of stairs that led back onto the street. There was a brief moment of stunned silence, when the referee, who was equally taken aback, returned to reality and declared:  
"Hydreigon is unable to battle! Scraggy wins!"  
"We did it!" Ash cheered, whirling Scraggy around in joy. The girl sighed and called her Hydreigon back into its pokeball, before handing her competition necklace over to the referee who ran off again, clearly to check for any other battles.

* * *

Julia checked the photos camera screen and was very pleased with the end result. The exact moment that Scraggy made contact with Hydreigon. Her employers should be happy with these. It was as she returned to the young trainers, tucking her camera away did the girl approach.

"That was the work of Victini, right?" Everyone just looked confused, Cilan inquiring her meaning. "I saw it, the way your Scraggy was getting power from Victini."  
"Do you mean this?" Iris asked, pulling out a small Victini charm and showing it to the girl. "It didn't do anything, really!" But she just smiled and looked into the tree line.  
"I'm talking about the real Victini," she said, sounding happier than before. Obviously, until just then she thought Ash had cheated intentionally.

"The real one's here?" Ash exclaimed, hurriedly looking into the trees and bushes again.  
"Where is it?" "C'mon I wanna see Victini!" They all looked around, clearly wanting a glimpse of the Victory Pokémon.  
"But Victini's invisible now," the girl pointed out. "It can do that."  
"Invisible..." Ash said thoughtfully, casting his mind back through the day so far. "Victini must've been the one who ate my macaron!" Julia raised an eyebrow, half doubting that. "And I wonder what we heard back in the cave... That sound could've been Victini's voice."

Ash looked around and stepped a little closer to the trees.  
"Hey Victini, did you give me power earlier?" They waited a moment, when suddenly, he received an answer.  
"Tini, tini! Tini tini!" A small, high pitched voice called back happily, with no visible source. Everyone gasped and looked around, though it seemed Victini wasn't showing itself just yet. There was no sign of it anywhere.

"Victini, that you?" Ash called again. "If it is, come on out and say hi!" Pikachu, Axew and Espeon called too. Still no sign of it, when Cilan clearly had an idea. He ran back to the bench and rummaged through his bag, when he pulled out a small wicker basket.  
"I've still got some macarons!" He opened it and inside where piles on little pastries, in every colour imaginable. There was orange, red, green, blue, white, yellow and many others. Each one perfectly round with a cream filling in the middle.

"Good job Cilan, bet this'll work." Ash took a macaron out and held it up into the air. "Hey Victini, I've got more macarons!" The voice cried in delight, closer than before, when the orange macaron was plucked from Ash's hand and floated high into the air, much to the general amazement of them all. Then, something began to eat it. They all gasped, as a tiny mouth nibbled the treat at break neck speed.

Espeon's tail flicked agitatedly and she mewed at Julia, clearly confused.  
"It's okay Espeon," Julia laughed, picking her up. "Just watch." When the first macaron had been devoured (and there was no other word for it), Ash took a second and threw it up into the air. It stopped and began to vanish in the same manner as the first had. It sank slowly to earth, the seesaw below hit the ground when a small pokémon appeared.

It was cream in colour, with orange, V shaped ears and huge blue eyes. It had a small pair of wings attached to its stubby legs and its hands and feet were as orange as its ears.  
"Wow, it really does exist!" Iris exclaimed, when Victini shot upwards and vanished again. Ash took a third macaron and held it out. Victini appeared, interested, but as Ash offered it, the pokémon backed off and turned invisible.  
'Still nervous,' Julia thought.

Ash allowed a slight devious look to flash onto his face and he opened his mouth, threatening to eat the macaron when Victini appeared and waved its arms in a flurry. He grinned and winked, holding out the macaron again. Uncertainly, Victini approached, reproachful eyes flickering to Ash before snatching the macaron from Ash's hand and happily nibbling on it. The others all walked over again.

"To think," the girl said. "Victini appeared for a macaron."  
"I suppose even mythical pokémon can't resist a good treat," Julia laughed. She grinned and nodded, before looking back at Victini.

"Hi, I'm Ash."  
"My name's Iris."  
"I'm Cilan."  
"I'm Julia."  
"Hi, they call me Carlita."  
"Pika pi!" "Axew!" "Espeon."

"Hey Victini, is it true you lent Tepig and Scraggy some of your power?" It nodded sweetly, only to receive the shock of its life from the ecstatic gratitude of an over excited ten year old. He grabbed it and beamed, running around. "Wow, you're incredible! Thanks so much!"  
"Ash-" Julia began to warn, when Victini burst into tears, frightened from the sudden rough treatment.

"Victini, what's wrong?"  
"Poor thing, you made Victini cry!" Iris accused.  
"Ash, you're playing a little too rough," Julia reprimanded. "Remember what happened with the Rattata when you were a kid?"  
Ash shuddered. He had been about five and playing with the aforementioned Rattata, that really didn't appreciate the curious child tugging at its tail. Those bite marks had stung for weeks.

During his short trip down memory lane, Victini wiggled free from Ash's fingers and disappeared again.

"I'm sorry Victini, really!" But it didn't show itself or reply, evidently still frightened. Then Pikachu seemed to have a bright idea and hopped up onto Cilan's arm, taking a macaron from the basket and then running off again. He called out, holding up the macaron when the Victory pokémon reappeared and took it gratefully, munching happily and the good feeling spread through them all.

"Victini," Ash said. "I'm sorry that I frightened you. Can we be friends?" Victini stared at him for a moment, before beaming and flying around him in excitement. Everyone grinned. It seemed Victini was almost as ecstatic to have a friend. And who would've thought how big a deal that it was to Victini.


	6. Lost in Thought

If there was one thing that Julia could never understand, it was the boundless energy that a child could possess even in sweltering heat. Ash bounded ahead of the group, Pikachu clinging to his usual perch and Victini rode along on his hat for the undoubtedly bumpy ride, whilst Iris skipped along just behind, with Cilan, Carlita, Julia and Espeon followed up behind the pair. It was bemusing how he could dash around like that without breaking a sweat, whereas most people were either milling around or relaxing in the shade. But then again, Ash was hardly normal most of the time.

"It's so amazing Victini showed up," Carlita stated suddenly. "A true wonder."

"It's like an exotic and rare ingredient," Cilan added, beaming broadly.

"Cilan, I do wonder if all you ever think about is food," Julia laughed, the green haired connoisseur flushing slightly.

"It makes me really, really happy!" Iris cheered, spinning on the spot to demonstrate said happiness, before taking off again, sparking a roll of the eyes from Cilan and an exchange of grins between Julia and Carlita. In all honesty, it was nice to relax in the exposure of her younger brother. He had a way of making her smile and laugh like no one else could, and all with his sheer enthusiasm for just about everything he did. And he managed to keep good company, though it was nice to see him again without Brock proclaiming his undying love for her. That act was as tiring as it was cheesy.

* * *

But still, Julia really did wonder how Ash could be so cheerful all of the time. He never seemed to have a complaint to throw out there about his family, regardless of his own hatred for Team Rocket. Somehow, without effort, Ash never let it overrun him. His happy demeanour was a genuine one, but how the heck did he keep it going all of the time? Whilst Julia often dwelled on her family situation, often drifting off into thought and mulling over it, Ash seemed to ignore it a lot of the time and just did what he wanted, even at home, where Julia always felt like she was being watched. It always made her skin crawl to think about it.

For Ash it was probably worse, seeing as Giovanni had Jessie, James and Meowth tailing him most of the time (though Unova was a current exception.) What most people didn't realise was that Jessie, James and Meowth were actually incredibly skilled agents, some of the best in the organisation. They had to be of course, why else would have Giovanni chosen them to keep an eye on his son? The hopeless, bumbling idiots role was a ruse so that Ash wouldn't suspect that Giovanni had specifically tasked them, though Julia was sure that Ash wasn't fooled by that any more. Though seemingly thick-skulled and oblivious, Ash was fairly clever and resourceful for his age.

He had probably figured out the trio long ago, and their absence too; Giovanni had a plan for Unova and was calling in all of his best agents, which pulled them out of their usual assignments. Jessie, James and Meowth had to suddenly drop their infamous bumbling in exchange for their classic serious-minded nature, reminiscent of the days when the three of them were feared across Kanto. The sudden revert back to such cold-blooded minions of Giovanni shocked many agents, seeing as their true mission was concealed for Ash's own safety from individuals like the Iron Masked Marauder. Butch and Cassidy were furious when the trio's mission successes began to mount like crazy, much to Jessie's immense satisfaction. Naturally, suspicions were aroused, though the rumour was spread that a boost in morale was enough to transform anyone into highly efficient soldiers.

'I wonder who came up with that,' a heavily sarcastic voice said in Julia's head, making her smirk. If there was ever a man to take advantage of anyone under his command, it was Giovanni. In fact, since the trio's 'return to their former rank' performance amongst the ranks had greatly increased. Clearly the agents all thought that if the likes of Rocket Clowns could reach the rank of Elites, then anyone could. But at the end of the day, Julia thought, they were all the same; thieves who were desperate enough to seek shelter with Team Rocket and sign their lives into Giovanni's service. Julia didn't care; that was their choice. 'Wish I could've chosen too...'

* * *

"Huh?" Julia pulled herself away from her thought, which had crossed her mind unexpectedly and looked around. She was very much alone right now; her thinking had caused her to lose track of things and the others must have ran off. "This is just perfect..." Shaking her head, Julia continued on. "This is why I need to stop over thinking it," she grumbled. But it was true that she needed to get back to work. Espeon may have not given any indication of another battle yet, but that didn't mean the tournament was over yet. It seemed that Ash probably was the last trainer, though the competition necklaces collected had to be counted first. Each necklace was signed out to a trainer with a small number carved in the back, whilst. When the necklace was taken by the referee, its number was crossed of the list until only one remained. When things got slow, the list was checked and if there was one trainer left, it was over. It was certainly an efficient way of dealing with the trainers who were running around the place. It would later be announced who the overall winner was and there would be a trophy given at the closing ceremony later in the evening.

Julia walked along the path, Espeon padding along at her heels. The problem was that chasing Ash around meant she had not been watching where she had been going and now she had not a clue as to where she was. Cursing under her breath, Julia looked around for a sign of anything familiar from when she had been walking around with Damon. She half wished he was here right now, to chat and laugh with. But he was up in the castle working today.

"Julia?" She looked over her shoulder and felt a wave of relief wash over her. Just the person who had been on her mind. "What are you up to? Not lost are you?" He walked up to her, trying not to look too amused. In her opinion, he wasn't fairing too well.

"Well I happened to run into my little brother and his friends," she explained. "I take my eyes off of them all for one second and they've run off without me." Damon just chuckled and shook his head.

"Well come on, I'm sure you'd like to get back to the festival."

"Yeah... But wait, I thought you said you were working today," Julia said, frowning. Damon immediately went on the defensive, taking a small step backwards with hands raised.

"Mannes let us off early to go to the festival. Granted, I've got to meet him again later..."

"Another conversation? You're up to something," Julia smirked, beginning to walk down the path, with Damon falling into step beside her.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," he chuckled. "Regardless, I want something to eat; breakfast seems like hours ago."

"Probably because it was."

Just laughing, the pair just made their way into the plaza where they browsed around. Damon, remaining true to his word, ate a bit of just about everything, his response to Julia's raised eyebrow being: "Give me a break woman, I've not been home in three years!" That just made her laugh before she walked around, taking more photos of the festival and its bustling crowds. Damon reappeared whilst she was sat at the edge of the Dragon Fountain; he took a seat beside her and sighed.

"The weather's just perfect for the festival, isn't it?"

"It's great that it was this good, but it's a bit warm. I feel sorry for anyone who isn't dressed for it," Julia replied, casting a glance around and spotting several people sat in the shade, drinking gallon after gallon of water as they sat with their duffle coats slung over the backs of their chairs or hanging around their elbows. They couldn't be blamed; the weather report had been terribly inaccurate after all and, rather than predict the miniature heat wave, it had forecast wind and showers. In fact, Julia was surprised more people weren't dressed for blustery weather, though then again, there were probably those who weren't silly enough to believe whatever the Unova Inquiry reported. It had a scandalous reputation for its lack of accuracy and rubbish content after all. Espeon leapt lightly into Julia's lap, tail still in the air as she curled up and purred whilst Julia petted her.

"I don't think I've ever seen an Espeon in person before," Damon noted, scratching the Sun Pokémon behind her ears. "She's quite lovely."

"True," Julia said. "But she's a bit thick compared to other Espeon," she added in a whisper. "Sometimes she forgets she can use Psychic and does everything the hard way." Damon tried not to laugh, but he couldn't contain a small snort of laughter. Espeon, however, seemed to have heard her trainer and mewed in protest. "Oh really, Miss 'could easily use psychic to open the door, but instead sits and meows at it for half an hour until I open it'?" Espeon just glared sulkily and leapt off of Julia's lap.

"I think you might have hurt her feelings," Damon said.

"She's just having a tantrum, it's fine." At that moment, Damon glanced up at the clock tower and jumped to his feet.

"Sorry Julia, but I've got to go and find Mannes; I was supposed to have met him nearly five minutes ago!"

"Well don't just stand here! Go on, I'll see you later," Julia urged.

"Right; pub at seven," he affirmed. "See you then." Without another word, he took off through the crowd. Julia rolled her eyes and stood up, looking around just as one of the referees from the competition appeared, red-faced and sweaty.

"Mannes wanted me to inform you that the tournament has ended and that there will be a ceremony for the winner later this evening," he panted.

"Right thank you," Julia replied, offering her water bottle to him. He gladly accepted it and gulped down some of the cool liquid. "By the way, do you have any idea who won?"

"Yes," he said, handing the bottle back over. "A boy called Ash Ketchum." Julia's eyebrows raised immediately and she couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

"Great, thank you."

* * *

Julia set off with a new spring in her step. Seeing as Espeon hadn't detected any other battles, she guessed that Ash and Carlita's battle had been the last one of the tournament. Espeon had returned to her pokeball, wanting to rest her paws now that her job was done so Julia walked on alone for now, unsure of what else to do until the closing ceremony for the festival. After all, she had pretty much all of the photos she would need for now. It was when she was walking past a stall did she catch a snippet of conversation that would take up a fair amount of time.

"You really met Victini?"

"Yes mum, we really did!" Julia looked over and spotted the source of the voices. Carlita was the one who had spoken and right by her were Ash, Iris and Cilan. They were talking to the woman who had sold Julia the Victini charm and carving earlier that day, and it was now very obvious she was Carlita's mother. They looked incredibly alike; they had the same eyes, hair and face. Julia walked over.

"So this is where you guys have been hiding is it?" Ash looked around.

"Julia! There you are," he exclaimed. "We wondered where you were!"

"You all left me behind," she chided, jabbing him in the forehead. "I take my eyes off of you for one second and you're gone!" The woman, who introduced herself as Juanita, gave the four a reprimanding look that reminded Julia all too well of her own mother. It seemed to be an inherent part of the job description. Ash, Carlita, Cilan and Iris just looked at the floor guiltily, Ash cuffing the stone with his shoe and Iris took a sudden interest in her finger nails. "So what's going on? Where'd Victini go?"

"We were just telling Juanita," Cilan said. "We saw a pillar of some kind. When we went to investigate, Victini hit some kind of invisible wall and was clearly frightened. We don't know where it went."

"Invisible wall?" Julia frowned.

"It was probably the barrier," Juanita said, as though that explained everything. Seeing the confused looks on their faces, aside from Carlita's, she went on. "Our town has an invisible barrier around it and legend has long said that Victini cannot go beyond the Pillars of Protection."

"Pillars of Protection?" Cilan mused. "They form the barrier... It must've been what we saw." Iris nodded in agreement. Ash looked around suddenly and ran forwards.

"Victini! Are you here? We didn't know there was an invisible wall you couldn't pass! I'm sorry!" He cried to the air, looking around desperately. However, there was no sign of the Victory pokémon anywhere. But Ash being Ash, he didn't give up right away. He dug into his pockets and pulled out a small cake of some sort, waving it in the air. "It's your favourite! A macaron!"

However, there was still no reply and, disheartened, Ash lowered his arm and offered the macaron to Pikachu.

"Here Pikachu, you have it," he said heavily, the Electric Mouse beaming and reaching for the pastry.

"Tini!" The tiny Victory pokémon popped out of thin air, paws outstretched and it's eyes wide with panic as Pikachu nearly ate the macaron. Then, Ash grinned mischievously and Julia tutted; he was teasing Victini the whole time.

Juanita stared in disbelief as Ash said: "C'mon Victini, let's be friends again!" He hugged Victini and Juanita caught Julia's eye, smiling softly. Julia returned it with a nod. Then Iris voiced her exact though.

"Ash is such a little kid!" Julia laughed.

"A truer word never spoken," she praised, Iris smiling back at her. None of them noticed Mannes and Damon approach, until Damon was right behind Julia.

"I would've thought you were working," he said in her ear, making Julia practically leap out of her skin, before going red in embarrassment and anger.  
"Damon, you prat!"

"It's Damon," Ash said, sounding surprised. Julia looked over at Ash, feeling very perplexed, which would only worsen when Carlita said: "Big brother?!"

"He's your brother?!" Iris exclaimed, voicing what Julia was thinking. Juanita strode over to Damon, hands on hips.

"Damon, we haven't heard from you in the last six months!" She scolded; Damon grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry mother, I was on a journey." Mannes just chuckled and patted Damon on the back.

"He's been a big help on the restoration project at the castle," he boomed. Juanita just glared at the mayor.

"Listen Mannes: your position as mayor does not allow you to boss my son around!" Mannes practically quailed beneath her imperious look, again, something Julia had seen in her own mother. She supposed most mothers were the same.

"So Julia," Damon said suddenly. "I see that you've already met my family." Carlita looked between Damon and Julia, clearly confused and seemed to take it the wrong way almost immediately.

"Damon... When did _you_ get a girlfriend?"

It was then that Julia froze up, her composure slipping ever so slightly, but she wasn't as bad as Damon, who had turned bright red, hiding his face behind his hand. Why. Did. _Everyone_. Think. That. Ash looked at Julia, just as confused, his mind whirring away, trying to suss it out just as Damon spoke.

"I didn't Carlita, because I don't _have one_. Julia's just a friend who I've been helping to find her way around town," he said firmly through gritted teeth. Juanita raised her eyebrows, not thoroughly convinced and Carlita smirked and nudged her older brother with her elbow.

"It's okay Damon, you can tell me." "Shut up Carlita." "Have you kissed-?"

"I can assure you Carlita," Julia interjected. "That there is nothing of the sort between myself and your brother. Besides." She leant down to mutter in the younger girl's ear. "If there was then Helena would be going Zubat-shit crazy." Carlita had to slap her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing too loudly, seeing as the aforementioned fan girl's father was stood not five feet away. However, he probably wouldn't have noticed because at that moment, Mannes had spotted Ash who still held Victini in his arms. The Victory pokémon was nibbling on another macaron, watching the scene intently as it did. He gasped and seemed to teleport the distance from where Damon was still arguing with his sister over to the boy.

"I-Is that Victini?!" Ash just nodded as Mannes pulled out his handkerchief and sobbed, somewhat overtly emotionally into it. "And to think, I never thought I'd live to see this day!" Julia glanced over at Damon, brow furrowed and the monochrome just shrugged. Juanita sighed heavily, shaking her head as she watched Mannes for a moment.

"Mother. I want to revive the Kingdom of the Vale," Damon said suddenly, everyone suddenly looking around at him. "And I need Victini's power to do that."

**To Be Continued...**

**I've decided to use parts of the manga version in the events of Movie 14, simply because shut up. **

**I know this is really dialogue heavy... I struggle converting animation into text. I may come back to this as some point and see what I can do about it.**

**Reviews please! No flames though, or else I'll just have my Snorlax sit on you.**


	7. The Legend and Nightmares

The lights flickered on as the sun sunk down. Damon seemed more fidgety now that he had made his bold declaration, but Mannes was insistent that the closing ceremony had to go on and that matters would be explained later. Julia supposed this would cancel their pub plans, but to be honest, she didn't mind too much. What Damon had said had piqued her curiosity but it had also made her somewhat wary. Power only led to trouble, regardless of how it was used. That thought had strayed to another, regarding Team Rocket. It was something she needed to stop thinking about, but with it constantly looming over head, could anyone blame her? Jessie, James and Meowth were here at the festival. Julia had spotted them that morning though she acted otherwise. Their mission had been to steal the pokémon at the festival, yet there had been no trace of any such theft. Not hide nor hair had been seen of the trio all day and it unsettled Julia. Then there was Pierce. He was in the area too, according to what James had said. Julia had only really started thinking about what he had said and the pieces had clicked together.

Pierce was probably searching for Victini. It made sense. If Julia had been sent for energy readings and the trio for competing pokémon, what else was left? Victini was the only plausible explanation for his being here. And Julia knew just how efficient Pierce was; he was one of Giovanni's most trusted agents and was given the most difficult of tasks, seeing as he could be relied on to get the job done right. Julia felt her stomach turn at the thought; that kind of power in Team Rocket's hands was sickening to think about. And speaking of such, Julia rubbed her forehead. She really did need to stop over thinking the matter; she had started feeling a little queasy as the day had gone on. In truth, it was mostly the heat. She hadn't drank as much as she should have on such a hot day. Looking over at Ash who was still dashing around the plaza, she really did wonder how he did it.

"You okay Julia? You're pale." She looked up and gave a half-hearted grin as Damon sat beside her.

"Yeah. Feeling a little off, but I'll be okay. Just the heat," she said vaguely. Damon frowned slightly, before handing her a glass, filled with the usual.

"I was thinking we probably won't get to the pub tonight, so might as well have one now," he said casually. Julia thanked him and took a sip. Perhaps it would help with the stress. They sat in silence, just staring vacantly ahead at the festival-goers moving back and forth. Everything was right in their world. So simple. "Julia?"

"Hm."

"I don't think I ever told you the whole story of how the Kingdom of the Vale fell."  
"Neither do I," Julia said, recalling him telling her the vague details of a war that happened a thousand years ago that led to the Kingdom of the Vale becoming the barren wasteland that it was today. "Well we've got until the Closing Ceremony. Why not tell me now?"

* * *

_Four thousand years ago, there was a tribe called the People of the Vale. They built their Kingdom hand in hand with pokémon, using the power of the land, the Dragon Force, wisely to aide them in their build. After many years, the Kingdom was complete and the castle, the Sword of the Vale, stood in the middle. For three thousand years, the Kingdom prospered and the people carried out their traditions as they always did. Their King was most beloved; with great wisdom, unparalleled power and endless kindness, he was a man whom all revered. He and his equally loved queen bore two sons; princes whom were filled with great wisdom and courage. Both princes became as beloved as their father, known throughout their kingdom for helping any who asked and thus the older brother was nicknamed the Hero of Truth, whilst his younger brother was nicknamed the Hero of Ideals._

_Both princes were also accompanied by great dragon pokémon: Reshiram and Zekrom. The dragons would only lend their power to those judged worthy... But then, one day. The fate of the Kingdom was forever change._

_As their father grew older, it became apparent that they would soon succeed him. In order to maintain peace, the king decreed that both brothers would rule together; however, the brothers soon began to bicker over how the Kingdom would be ruled. Bickering grew into arguments and fights and soon the two princes became enemies. The country lost its way and became divided between its loyalties. Civil war broke out; families were torn apart and friends turned against one another. Countless lives were lost in needless violence. Zekrom and Reshiram's violent, bloody battle could be witnessed by all, as they raged above in the sky, before finally wounding each other. Their life force was drained and they turned into stone, falling into a long, deep slumber. The Dragon Force felt the rage and was driven mad by the mass slaughter and became chaotic._

_The princes realised their grave mistake; their petty quarrels had brought horrific destruction to their people, and their blood stained their hands. But by this time, it was too late. The chaotic Dragon Force began to run rampant, corroding everything that stood in its wake. Lives, homes and eco-systems were lost in the fearsome flames and the King soon realised what had to be done. He turned to Victini and asked to borrow its power; by using the Pillars of Protection, he created a barrier around the castle as he sent his sons to gather the surviving people and bring them back. With the townspeople safely inside, the castle lifted into the sky before being carried to the mountain top and restraining the Dragon Force, calming the vengeful beast and saving the land from further destruction._

_However, the King was no longer young, but old and weak. The last of his power had been spent on moving the castle and he died before he could remove the barrier. Thus it and the Pillars of Protection remained. The princes felt deep remorse for their actions and vowed to never let such events take place again. The Dragon Stones were hidden in a secret location, where they would wait to recover and select their next chosen, before the princes went on to rebuild what had been lost, telling the story in the hopes that it would be remembered. In the hope that petty arguments would not destroy their people again._

* * *

By the time Damon had finished telling the story, Mannes had taken the stage and Julia took this as her cue to get to work. Getting to her feet, she felt her knees shake slightly. Somehow, hearing that story made her feel worse than ever. Damon walked with her to the front of the stage where Iris, Cilan, Juanita and Carlita were waiting.

"Ladies and gentleman, I would like to thank each and every one of you for attending the festival this year," he started. "I'm proud to say that it was a roaring success, thanks to each person, not only standing here, but also those who ensured everything was prepared in time. And now, as you all know, our annual battle competition has now ended. Would this year's winner please join me, Ash Ketchum!" Ash walked onto the stage to a round of applause that was so loud, Julia was surprised her ears weren't sore. Seeing as Ash had been in the Top 4 of the Sinnoh League only a few months ago and was the only person to have ever defeated a single pokémon of the powerful Darkrai trainer, Tobias, he had become something of a celebrity for his impressive skills, determination and unorthodox methods. There was a presentation of the award, a small trophy, before a final speech from Mannes. Damon noted that despite the official end of the festival, there would still be after parties like there was every year. As the crowd dispersed, Ash hurried over, his face still somewhat pink from the attention, showing Julia his prize.

"C'mon, let me take a photo," Julia said, holding up her camera as she tried to ignore her aching head. Iris took an eager look, though Ash wouldn't let her hold it out of fear that the wild girl might just run off with it, which led to the two bickering as Cilan and Carlita watched, the former smiling sheepishly. Oddly enough, Misty, Ash's former red-haired companion, came to mind just watching them. She and Ash had bickered just the same. Still did when they saw each other.

"Julia, are you sure you're okay?" She looked up at Damon. "You really don't look so good." She didn't feel so good either. Her stomach kept turning and her head was hurting worse than ever. Not that she'd admit it though.

"I'm fine Damon. Really-"

"She always does this," Ash said, frowning at his sister. "Every time you feel ill, you pass it off as nothing." Damon's frown deepened and suddenly, Julia felt quite cornered by her friend and younger brother.

"C'mon, you should get back to Mannes' place and get some rest. You won't be missing anything; the after parties aren't anything official so you wouldn't need the photos, right?" Damon insisted. Julia tried to argue back, but to no avail.

* * *

Suddenly, she registered that it was very quiet and that she was walking back to the house with Damon. Now that it was quieter, the aches and pains of her body made themselves more noticeable and Julia had to restrain any and every groan of pain. Her eyelids felt heavy and soon she was practically leaning on Damon as they walked, her feet too tired to carry her all by themselves. Damon sighed and glanced down at her.

"If you weren't feeling so good, you shouldn't have gone to the festival," he chided.

"That would've been counter-productive. I had a job to do. Besides, I wasn't feeling this way until a little while ago. Must be the heat..." Julia replied tiredly.

"Heat on its own doesn't explain it," Damon said pointedly. "Look, just focus on feeling better. Better than worrying about anything."

Worrying. Ironic how that was the main reason she felt so bad. Thankfully, they arrived at Mannes' home before long and Damon helped Julia to her room. Just as they arrived at the door however, Julia felt a horrible jolt as her stomach contracted. Half shoving Damon away, she burst into the bathroom and collapsed at the toilet bowl just as her guts heaved up the contents of her stomach. Damon pulled the hair off of her face as she retched horribly. If there was anything that Julia hated that was considered normal, it was definitely being sick. It made her feel vulnerable, not to mention the burning taste in the back of her throat. Damon rubbed her back soothingly, though it seemed that Julia was done bringing her food back up; instead she sat on the floor, hunched over the bowl, shivering and gasping. The monochrome took some of the toilet roll and wiped her mouth before helping her back up and into the room. Julia grabbed her bed clothes and Damon slipped out of the room whilst she changed. He re-entered a minute later when she was done and tucked her in.

"Some sleep and you'll be fine," he said softly. "I'll be down the hall if you need me, okay?" Julia nodded stiffly and let her eyes close as Damon left the room again.

* * *

_It was cold and dark. Julia looked around, but there was nothing to see._

_"Julia, over here." She looked up. Ash... What was Ash doing here? "Julia, help me!"_

_"Ash?" Julia felt her feet moving towards him automatically. Shadows crept over Ash._

_"Julia, help me! Please, help me!"_

_"Ash! Ash, I'm coming, you'll be okay!"_

_"Julia!" The floor disappeared and she fell; the wind rushed in her ears as she heard Ash cry out in agony._

_"Ash! Ash!" Julia cried out, willing to find him again. Shadowy figures grabbed her, dark hands grasping at her arms and neck. "No! Let go of me!"_

_"What right do you have?!" A ghoulish voice screeched. "When have you bled for the sake of others?" There was a sharp pain in Julia's abdomen. She looked down... Blood everywhere. She screamed as it engulfed her. A sea of crimson regret as dark hands seized her shoulders, shaking her sharply, when..._

* * *

"Julia!" The room erupted around her. The blood, the hands, the shadows... It was all gone. Just a nightmare. Damon's face came into view; pale and frightened. Julia practically threw herself into his arms, sobbing into his shoulder, the visions all too fresh and all too real to her. Damon held her tightly, trying to hush her softly and stroked her hair.

"It was a nightmare Julia. Just a stupid nightmare. It wasn't real, it was pretend," he said gently, trying to sooth her gently. But Julia just sobbed, because it had felt too real. She knew it could be real. It probably was. But she didn't care right now; she was too scared and too tired to care whether if it was real or not. The fact was that she had seen it and now she was in a state of panic. It took Julia quite some time to finally calm down and that was when she noticed the angry red marks on the back of Damon's hands. She must've done it when he tried waking her up... A strong feeling of guilt welled up inside her chest but her voice didn't seem to want to work. Every time she opened her mouth to apologise, no sound came out and she just registered how dry her mouth was. Finally, she gave up and went to the bathroom. She glanced herself in the mirror; she was pale and trembling badly. Her hair was ragged and she looked as though she hadn't slept in days. Splashing some water on her face, Julia finally straightened up and returned to the room.

Damon was still sat on the edge of the bed, clearly having waited for her to come back. The instant she sat down, his arms went around her in comfort and she just buried herself into his chest, her arms hanging loosely around his waist.

"Sorry... For waking you up. And your hands," Julia said thickly. Damon shook his head.

"I would rather you wake me up and claw my hands apart than let you go through that alone. It was horrible... Listening to you scream like that." Julia felt his grip tighten a little. "If you want... I'll stay. If it makes it easier." Without a single thought of the possible consequences that might follow, Julia nodded and allowed Damon to lie her down in the bed, before dragging the sheets over them both and wrapping his arms around her again. His warmth was comforting; she felt secure here, like the nightmares couldn't hurt her at all. Then a sudden thought crossed her drowsy mind: "Where's Ash?"

"Well, Mannes invited him and the others to stay, but they wanted to sleep outside," he whispered. "Now just sleep, stop worrying." Burying her face into his chest and inhaling his scent, Julia felt her eyes close again, this time sending her into a much easier, calmer sleep.

**To be continued...**

**Poor Julia needs to stop thinking so hard. She's making herself poorly :( But then again... It makes for some cute moments with Damon :D Worth it. So I wanted to tell the story of the Kingdom of the Vale a little differently, as it made it more interesting. I mean, it's a story about a war. People would have died, civil wars tear families and friends apart and it's brutal. So my argument is that Mannes, Juanita and Damon all agreed that the little kiddies didn't need to hear that bit. But Julia, being an adult, does get to hear about the more violent side of the story, because in all honesty, when you get down to it, the story has an element of violence to it that is completely neglected for the sake of not telling the kids. **

**So yeah, reviews. I do like 'em so long as they're helpful. No flames, or I'll throw you to the Dragon Force**


	8. And So it Begins

When Julia woke the following morning, the sun had barely risen and the room was dark, the faint sunlight creeping in the crack between the curtains. It took her a moment to remember why she was completely immobilised and she felt her face burn bright red. Damn, what had she been thinking? Her first thought was to wake Damon immediately so she could escape this awkward position. But before she could, she looked at his face. He looked tired and worn. Had he slept properly recently? Based on what he had said just yesterday? Probably not. He looked older than he should; Julia could suddenly see the ghosts of shadows beneath his eyes and he certain looked weather beaten. He was tanned; she could see the lines where his skin transitioned to a paler tone, and, something that must normally be hidden beneath his hair was an old scar on his forehead, probably from the travels he had mentioned. His hands were firm and a small scar and the callouses from all the hard work he had been doing became obvious, not to mention the fact he was quite muscular, or at least he had a firm build, which Julia only really noted about the arms that were locked around her.

Had she really not noticed any of it before? Julia frowned and unconsciously moved closer into Damon. Considering the night's events of waking him up with screaming, tearing at his hands and making him deal with her troubles, Julia figured she could let him sleep a while longer. As they lay there, the sun crept further into the room, when Damon finally stirred and his dark blue eyes opened slowly. He looked slightly confused, before looking down at Julia, plainly having not immediately recalled where he was.

"Morning," Julia said quietly, trying to sound casual. It didn't stop her feeling awkward. What else were you supposed to say to a person you just shared a bed with? Damon clearly wasn't sure either, as he looked temporarily stupefied before the red flooded his whole face, as though he had just swallowed a whole tomato berry in one go. Immediately, he let go of Julia and leapt out of the bed as though he had received an electric shock.

"M-morning," he stuttered. "Feeling better?" Julia nodded, all the while attempting to beat down her own blush. The success was limited. At least it wasn't as bad as Damon's, who was scratching the back of his head whilst staring at the floor awkwardly. "Good to hear… Well, I'll see you later Julia." And with that, he was already out of the door and practically running to his own room, leaving Julia sat in the bed, somewhat stunned before she made her way into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. She barely noticed the hot water rushing over her, streaming through her messy brown hair and forcing it straight. She knew it would be awkward when Damon woke up, but it wasn't like he had been half-delirious when he had offered. He was in control of the situation, so surely it shouldn't have been half as bad for him? Not as bad as he was acting. Julia ran her fingers through her hair, forcing the shampoo into her roots and she scowled somewhat angrily. That was right, she hadn't been thinking straight. Damon had known what he was doing the whole time; why was he reacting so badly? Julia tugged the brush hard and slammed the water off when the suds were washed away before stepping out of the shower and reaching for a towel.

"Why are men so damn hard to understand?" Julia muttered under her breath, drying herself and tying her hair up. Towel wrapped around her, she re-entered the bedroom and rooted around her bag for some clothes. She couldn't wear that dress all of the time. She found a pair of jeans, a shirt and a jacket. Mannes had said it wouldn't be quite as warm today, if not a little chilly, so it would do. Tucking the jeans into her boots, Julia made her way out of the room and downstairs. The moment she stepped into the dining room Mannes and Eileen swooped down on her, asking if she was alright and if she needed anything. Julia assured them she was okay and quickly realised that Damon had probably told them about what had happened. Just behind Mannes, she could see Helena scowling darkly though Julia ignored her before waving off the last of Mannes and Eileen's worries before sitting down beside Damon. He was dressed very differently in some kind of robe. Julia supposed it was a formality of whatever he was up to today. Right away, she noticed he wasn't eating, just fiddling with his food and pushing it around the plate with his fork.

"Damon, dear why not eat something?" Eileen said the concern evident in her tone.

"She's right, today's a big day. You need your strength," Mannes added whilst not touching his own plate at all with his arms folded tightly across his chest. Damon ate a few bites before returning to playing with his food.

"So, what's everyone up to today?" Eileen asked, trying to break the thick tension that was swallowing the room.

"I'm meeting Tyson," Rose replied promptly, smiling happily. "I'm not sure what we're doing though."

"Knowing Tyson? Probably looking for the best places to eat," Julia laughed. "It's all he wanted to do other than train back at the Evergrande Conference." Rose looked up curiously. "I swear, when he and Ash weren't training for the league, they were hunting down the best restaurants." She laughed.

"Well I can show him some, definitely," she said.

"I bet you can." Julia intentionally left May out of the story. She didn't want to upset Rose. "I'm going to be photographing the town, so I might see you around."

"Ah, you might want to wait until tomorrow," Mannes piped up suddenly. "There's quite a big project on today which might mean having to retake photos."

"Really? How come?" Julia asked, frowning as she faced the mayor.

"Not to worry my dear girl, I don't doubt you'll see later," Mannes said vaguely, but Julia recognised that tone that the conversation was over, the same one her father used, so she didn't broach the subject further and instead returned to her breakfast. That was certainly out of character for Mannes, not to mention Damon's much more withdrawn personality. Her suspicions were definitely aroused, but it seemed to be a game of wait and see. By the time she was done, Damon still had eaten nothing else and was just staring at his feet under the table. Definitely nervous about these plans of his. Damon stood up abruptly, nodding at Mannes before making his way out of the room when he paused in the door way. He looked around at Julia and opened his mouth for a moment, before closing it. Julia looked back at him.

"…Will you come today?" He asked suddenly. "To the castle?" Dumbstruck for a moment, Julia nodded. For the first time that morning, Damon managed a smile before leaving the room; there was a notable confidence in his stride as he did so.

"I suppose I'd better get going too," Julia said a moment after he had gone before following suit, leaving Helena's mutinous expression and Rose's smirk behind. She heard Eileen chuckle and whisper something to Mannes before the door closed behind her. Damon's behaviour was getting more confusing by the second. He had wanted to say something else, but what? Not what he had asked; he had unmistakably changed his mind… And now that was going to bother her intensely.

Julia reached the hall and found Damon waiting for her there. He turned to face her and immediately plunged into an apology.

"Julia, about this morning-"

"It's okay," Julia interrupted. "It was pretty embarrassing… But thank you. For helping me out and putting up with me," she finished with an apologetic smile on her face. Damon just shook his head.

"It's fine. I was happy to help… Well, we'd better get going," he said, Julia following him out of the doors and down the steps. Time to see what Damon was really up to.

* * *

They reached the balcony and saw Juanita and Carlita were already waiting for them. Carlita frowned and put her hands on her hips.

"You know Damon, it's kinda bad when you're the last one here," she scolded.

"Carlita," Juanita warned. "Julia, how are you dear?"

"I'm fine, thank you Juanita," she answered as she and Damon joined them. "Much better than last night."

"That's good. I see Damon invited you as well?" She said, glancing at her son who nodded, though a slight blush crept into his cheeks. Carlita seemed not to have noticed, looking back around at Eindoak below them.

"So you're really saying the castle really _can_ fly?" She said doubtfully.

"It can, definitely," Damon said firmly, not appreciating the lack of faith his younger sister seemed to have, before turning to his mother and Julia. "Well I'd better get to it. Mother. Carlita. Julia." He nodded at each of them in turn and walked up the steps into the chamber, leaving the three women on the balcony. Before Julia could ask what either sibling had meant, Carlita went on the offensive.

"So what's with you and Damon?" She asked, smirking. "He wouldn't have asked just anyone to come here. He didn't even invite his best friends." Juanita gave Carlita a warning look to tell her to stop prying.

"We're just friends," Julia said tiredly. "I can honestly say, I have no idea why he asked me. He just did."

"Well that's the way Damon is…" Juanita commented sadly. "Always a little secretive. He's got a bit of a thing for showing off and likes things to have an impact, so he holds things back to surprise people."

"Has he always been that way?"

"Well… He really started doing it after his father passed," Juanita said, staring into the distance. "He was only eight when it happened…"  
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"No it's fine dear. But he was never quite the same after Grey died. He shut himself away for a while and didn't talk much. It was only after a couple of years did he open up again and that was when he started behaving the way he does now. Secretive and always trying to surprise people… But it was never anything horrible," Juanita explained, looking over the pulpit where Damon had appeared. Julia and Carlita looked over as well. "In fact," the older woman continued. "It was always him trying to make people smile."

"Damon's a good person," Carlita said softly. "He just needs to stop hiding really…"

Julia didn't say anything else to either of them and turned to look over the mountains. Honestly, Julia had been wondering why Damon never mentioned his father. He only said anything about his mother and sister so Julia just assumed his father was around the town or had even left. But she never would have thought he had lost his father and so early on too. Eight years old. Julia didn't know what a father's love was like, but she had seen them in Pallet Town, playing with their children and telling boys to leave their daughters alone and generally doing the things a father should do. She looked at Damon who had retreated back into the chamber.

_He was never quite the same after Grey died. He shut himself away for a while and didn't talk much. It was only after a couple of years did he open up again…_

Julia felt a deep pang of sympathy. For her, her father's death would probably be quite welcome. It meant having the chance to escape Team Rocket if he died before placing her on the throne. It was a horrible thing to think about one's father but it was a special case. But for Damon… To have been loved by his father and to have loved him in return and then lose him, probably very suddenly, the pain must have been unbearable.

"Sigilyph!" Julia snapped back to reality and looked around at Damon. He had just turned away from the chamber and was holding his hands over the pedestal in front of him. There was a sudden rumbling sound and Carlita's shout of shock drew everyone's attention. The Pillars of Protection that surrounded Eindoak had begun to glow violet before pulling themselves free from their roots in the ground. They rose higher and higher into the sky and began to approach the castle; a purple wall shimmering between them. The barrier. All three women stared in disbelief as Damon smiled confidently. So far it seemed to be going to plan. Then there was a panicked squeaking and Julia looked away from the pillars just in time to see a small orange blur speed past and into the chamber.

"Was that-?"

"Julia! Juanita! Carlita!" They all looked up and spotted Ash, Iris and Cilan running over, Iris clutching her chest painfully and Cilan looking ready to fall to his knees. They had evidently ran as fast as they could to get there.

"Ash? What are you doing here?" Carlita asked, brow furrowed.  
"Where's Victini?" Ash asked. But before anyone could answer, there was a very sudden jolt and everyone grabbed the balustrade to support themselves from the shaking.

"What's happening?" Cilan gasped. "Earthquake?" Iris shook her head.

"The castle," she squeaked, pointing downwards and everyone followed her gaze. The mountain seemed to be crumbling away from the castle as it rose up; the stone crunching as it was drawn upwards by an invisible hand, exposing the rock-blade as the castle climbed higher and higher.

"I don't believe it," Juanita whispered. "It's really happening." The town shrunk as they climbed higher and higher when there was an echoing rumble, for deep within the hole the castle had left behind a green light appeared and grew, snaking out of the ground. "The Dragon Force…"  
"That's the Dragon Force?" Julia murmured. That was what Giovanni was looking for then. It began to crawl down the mountain and began to wind its way across the landscape, right towards the old Kingdom of the Vale.

**To Be Continued…**

**Okay, so this chapter took way too long to post. Apologies for that D: My reason is that my laptop has broken down on me twice and is having the hard drive replaced so I've basically lost everything :( So I've only had to use the opportunity of free periods at school for writing and it's difficult to get it done because of homework piling up during that time too. This chapter is kind short compared to the others, but I want to really get the main events of the movie across the next two chapters or so.**

**And it seems Damon can be damn cute when he wants to be XD**

**So reviews, but no flames. And also no complaining about the central formatting; I'm not changing it, deal with it. No amount of complaining about it will change my mind. This is how I format all of my stuff, get over it.**


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